?

I don't think there is any symbol that can be recognized by all people on the world. Even something simple like the arrow → is ambiguous -- the "Warning: Laser" icon uses it in a reversed form.

Latin, Greek, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Korean and Japanese -- with both first- and second language speakers --, to how many people does that add up? Who are you afraid of missing out on? Cherokee, Amaya, Aussie Aboriginals?

as an icon that says "just don't" a hand showing the open palm as if held up in front of the viewer's face in a "Stop right there & go no further." gesture is often used in countries with low literacy rates.

However, the exclamation mark is very widely used as a caution symbol on packaging and signs meant to be trans-lingual.

I think an exclamation mark would likely be geopolitically safer than the hand gesture.

In at least one southern African alphabet, the exclamation sign is a consonant letter, indicating a retroflex click.

as an icon that says "just don't" a hand showing the open palm as if held up in front of the viewer's face in a "Stop right there & go no further." gesture is often used in countries with low literacy rates.

And it's reportedly offensive in some countries (essentially the same as giving someone the finger in the US).

@ … if they use a substitute, what is it?

Flipped Horizontally or vertically?!

Thanks for the input! It looks like the exclamation point would be recognizable in all the geographic areas I need to deal with, but I'm probably going down the wrong alley, since the exclamation point is so widely used as a caution symbol.

The symbol I'm trying to create needs to say "I need help!" and I was thinking that the exclamation point could serve that purpose, but since it's already commonly used for something else, it probably wouldn't be a good choice.