What Does The Feather In The Blue Origin Logo Mean?

This morning, for approximately four minutes, former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ceased being the richest person on the planet for the sole reason that he ceased being on the planet. Unlike fellow billionaire Richard Branson, he and his crewmates crossed the Kármán line. Also unlike Richard Branson, they went up in rocket ship, so all in all the feat of Bezos, et. al. was certainly cooler. But as I was watching it this morning the whole time I could not stop thinking: What is with the feather in the Blue Origin logo?

Jeff Bezos’ space escapades are rich with symbolism. He named his rocket the New Shepard, in an homage to the first American to go into space, Alan Shepard. (Side note: This new Space Age makes Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff,” which immortalized the Mercury Seven, as relevant as ever.) Also aboard the New Shepard today was Wally Funk, a female astronaut who trained for space in the 1960s but who was unable to go because she was a woman. The name of Blue Origin itself is a not-so-subtle reference to Carl Sagan’s description of Earth as a “Pale Blue Dot.” All of this is great, but none of it explains the feather.

A popular T-shirt on Amazon right now is one featuring a blueprint of the New Shepard. You can see the Blue Origin logo prominent at the top:

New Shepard Rocket Blueprint T-Shirt — $18.99

The feather rests atop the words “Blue Origin.” Any place you see it, whether it is on merchandise or on the New Shepard’s landing spot, it is positioned at that 45 or so degree angle. What it most reminds me of is the opening scene of Forrest Gump:

Was this the message that Bezos was trying to send us? Is his “running away” to space supposed to be akin to Forrest, running across America and into our hearts despite being born with a physical limitation? Is this all an elaborate attempt to win back Mackenzie Scott, his own personal Jenny?

The answer is unclear. For what it’s worth, the Blue Origin website addresses the feather logo as such:

The Blue Origin feather is a symbol of the perfection of flight. It represents freedom, exploration, mobility and progress. For thousands of years, we humans have been looking up at the birds and wondering what it would be like to fly. Now, we look up to the stars and pursue a bright future for all of us.

Obviously, that is not very convincing. With all the other symbolism surrounding Bezos’ plan to take humanity to parts unknown, his answer for choosing a feather logo is “birds have feathers”? Come on, now. Birds may have feathers, but birds do not go into space. If Jeff Bezos had earned his fortune from some industry associated with birds, say like Jack Dorsey and Twitter, then I would at least entertain the notion. Otherwise, the bird story is a front, and more investigation is needed on the topic.

Until I hear otherwise, I am officially concluding that the feather in the Blue Origin logo is a Forrest Gump reference. Do with that information what you will. Now, run, Jeff, run!