On the July 10, 2015 edition of 99% Invisible.
Portlanders have a tradition when visiting their airport: taking a picture of their feet. It’s not to show off their shoes, but rather, what’s under them. They are documenting the famous PDX airport carpet.
The PDX carpet is a loud, decidedly 80s geometric pattern over a vast sea of teal. The carpet, it is said, is based on the way the runways and lights look from the air traffic control tower; another story has it as representative of the air traffic control radar screen [...]