Just wanted to take a moment to show my newfound appreciation of the interrobang – an often-overlooked punctuation mark. Can you believe that this exists‽
The interrobang was invented by visionary Martin K. Speckter in 1962 as a way to end a sentence in an excited manner, or express excitement, disbelief, or confusion in the form of a question. It remained in vouge during the 1960s, but largely fell by the wayside thereafter.
The next time you find yourself in need of more than just a question mark to end your sentence, give the interrobang a try!
- “Wait, they’re serving pizza for breakfast‽”
- “Is this real life, or am I dreaming‽”
- “Did you see that incredible sunset‽”
- “How on earth did they fit an elephant in that tiny car‽”
- “Why is there a penguin in the swimming pool‽”
To apply the interrobang in Microsoft Word, type 203D followed by ALT+X
Note: The interrobang is not available in all fonts. If you see a box appear instead of the interrobang, try a different font. I just don’t understand why all font makers wouldn’t support this‽