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Yavin4

(35,446 posts) Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:28 PM Dec 2020

0

Do you know what an octothorpe is?

No googling.

13 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Do you know what an octothorpe is? (Original Post) Yavin4 Dec 2020 OP

# tblue37 Dec 2020 #1

Correct! Yavin4 Dec 2020 #4

Yes! It's right here in Atlanta! CurtEastPoint Dec 2020 #2

There's a 99% Invisible episode about this, IIRC... RockRaven Dec 2020 #3

99% invisible? I don't think I've ever seen... wait a minute.... unblock Dec 2020 #9

I wonder if #octothorpe would trend? Solly Mack Dec 2020 #5

Would probably bring the internet down... targetpractice Dec 2020 #8

That might be fun. Solly Mack Dec 2020 #10

Yes. No googling. Honest! unblock Dec 2020 #6

I did, then I forgot. Sneederbunk Dec 2020 #7

You know that was just a joke, right? n/t PoliticAverse Dec 2020 #11

There's a podcast about it on the Merriam Webster website. Yavin4 Dec 2020 #12

... PoliticAverse Dec 2020 #13

tblue37

(65,488 posts)

1. #

Reply to Yavin4 (Original post)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:29 PM

Dec 2020

Yavin4

(35,446 posts)

4. Correct!

Reply to tblue37 (Reply #1)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:32 PM

Dec 2020

According to one origin story of the #, people began abbreviating the Latin term for “pound weight,” libra pondo, as lb. At the time, it was common to add a horizontal bar to abbreviations, known as a tittle, to show that the two letters were connected, and that the letter “l” was not the numeral 1.

As the design podcast 99% Invisible explains, “As scribes started writing this sign faster and faster, lb began to morph.” It eventually became the tic-tac-toe-board shape we know today.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64280/where-does-hashtag-aka-octothorpe-come

CurtEastPoint

(18,664 posts)

2. Yes! It's right here in Atlanta!

Reply to Yavin4 (Original post)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:31 PM

Dec 2020

LOL...

RockRaven

(15,003 posts)

3. There's a 99% Invisible episode about this, IIRC...

Reply to Yavin4 (Original post)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:31 PM

Dec 2020

I think that's where I learned the term.

unblock

(52,328 posts)

9. 99% invisible? I don't think I've ever seen... wait a minute....

Reply to RockRaven (Reply #3)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:37 PM

Dec 2020

Solly Mack

(90,787 posts)

5. I wonder if #octothorpe would trend?

Reply to Yavin4 (Original post)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:33 PM

Dec 2020

targetpractice

(4,919 posts)

8. Would probably bring the internet down...

Reply to Solly Mack (Reply #5)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:37 PM

Dec 2020

... Mind blown.

Solly Mack

(90,787 posts)

10. That might be fun.

Reply to targetpractice (Reply #8)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:39 PM

Dec 2020

For a few minutes.

unblock

(52,328 posts)

6. Yes. No googling. Honest!

Reply to Yavin4 (Original post)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:34 PM

Dec 2020

I used duck duck go!

Sneederbunk

(14,303 posts)

7. I did, then I forgot.

Reply to Yavin4 (Original post)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:36 PM

Dec 2020

PoliticAverse

(26,366 posts)

11. You know that was just a joke, right? n/t

Reply to Yavin4 (Original post)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:50 PM

Dec 2020

Yavin4

(35,446 posts)

12. There's a podcast about it on the Merriam Webster website.

Reply to PoliticAverse (Reply #11)

Sat Dec 12, 2020, 11:57 PM

Dec 2020

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/octothorpe

PoliticAverse

(26,366 posts)

13. ...

Reply to Yavin4 (Reply #12)

Sun Dec 13, 2020, 12:05 AM

Dec 2020

http://dougkerr.net/Pumpkin/articles/Octatherp-octotherp.pdf

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