I'm fairly certain that the YouTube logo, especially the original one, is meant to symbolize a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TV like this one: https://spencertified.co

I'm fairly certain that the YouTube logo, especially the original one, is meant to symbolize a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TV like this one: https://spencertified.com/cdn/shop/collections/Sears-Solid-State-14-CRT-Television-Retro-TV-Televisions_2048x2048_a2370037-7e20-46e2-ac49-1905064b0bf2_1350x848.jpg https://spencertified.com/cdn/shop/collections/Sears-Solid-S... (random example from image search). In times of linear TV, you'd ask whether anything was on the tube when you were wondering whether you'd want to watch something.