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National Ampersand Day

Fun · September 8

A look at the ampersand, the curly symbol that stands for "and," where its shape comes from, and simple ways to notice and draw it.

National Ampersand Day falls on Wednesday, September 8, 2027. That is 316 days away.

The ampersand is the little knot of a symbol that means "and." It shows up in company names, on shop signs, in wedding invitations and in the corner of almost every keyboard, usually above the number seven.

Its shape is older than it looks. The symbol grew out of the Latin word et, which also means "and." Scribes writing quickly joined the e and the t into one stroke, and over time that joined pair became a character of its own. In many fonts you can still spot the two letters hiding in the curves.

Type designers treat the ampersand as a place to show off. Because it has no single fixed form, one typeface might give it a tidy pretzel shape while another turns it into a loose, looping flourish. Flip through the fonts on a computer and the ampersand changes more than almost any other character.

The name has a story too. Schoolchildren once recited the symbol at the end of the alphabet with a phrase that ended "and per se and," and those words slurred together into "ampersand."

Marking it takes very little. Try writing one by hand, which is trickier than it seems the first few times, or keep an eye out for it on signs and menus during an ordinary errand. Once you start looking, it turns up in more storefront names than you might expect.

Ways to celebrate

• Practice drawing an ampersand by hand until the loops feel natural.
• Compare how the ampersand looks across the fonts on your computer.
• Look for ampersands on store signs and menus during a walk.
• Find the e and t hidden inside an ampersand in a serif typeface.
• Share a favorite business or book title that uses an ampersand.

Dates

All national days on September 8

Also on September 8

• Star Trek Day

Categories: Fun days