Octothorpe I Woke Up Like This
Here’s another factlet for your swelling brains: a hashtag (the sign we see too much these days) is actually called an “octothorpe.” Additionally, an infinity symbol is known as a “lemniscate.” It’s like everything we thought we knew was a big, fat lie. Or we just didn’t know that much to begin with. Words are fun, aren’t they?
The octothorpe was apparently invented in 1968 by workers in Bell Telephone Labs … as a joke. It was in reference to what’s also called the “pound sign” on the phone keypad. A lemniscate is simply the number eight on its side and frequently utilized in algebraic geometry. It’s derived from the Latin word “lemniscatus.” Octothorpes are technically on social media. It’s what the cool kids use!