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Subject:Re: the pound sign From:Pat Madea <madea -at- MMSI -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 9 Aug 1995 14:24:09 MST
>On Wed, 9 Aug 1995, Leslie Gasser EXP 8/26/95 wrote:
>
>> Could any of you tell me what the actual name of the
>> pound sign (#) is? I thought it was octothorp (sp?),
>> but I haven't been able to find it in the dictionary
>> or in any of my reference books.
>
>The sign you have typed there is not a pound sign. The pound sign looks
>like a fancy handwritten capital "L", and is used as the symbol for British
>currency, and Australian currency before 1966 (sorry it doesn't work
>on my keyboard).
>
>I know "#" as the "hash" sign.
>
>James Perkins
The thread of what to call the # symbol has been followed before at
great length. The contenders were octothorp, pound sign, hash or hash
sign, and number sign. There was also thatch. There was no
consensus. Go figure.....
