My second favorite punctuation mark, the interrobang, was first invented in 1962 by an advertising executive. I’m not sure how humanity existed so long without it. Nor can I figure out why it’s still so underused and undersupported (few font character palates offer it).  It’s the only single punctuation mark available for those times when you’re asking a question and making a passionate statement simultaneously. Isn’t that amazing ‽

For more on the history of the interrobang, I encourage you to visit this site.

Not only is it multifariously useful as a punctuation mark, it’s also a cool word, since it combines the Latin root for question (or the formal term for question mark — interrogative point) and the old-school proofreader’s/printer’s word for exclamation point — bang. (By the way, is anyone else interested in resurrecting the use of bang? I think it’s great.)

If you want to stop typing and endless string of “?!?!?!?!” and start using the interrobang in documents or on the Web, you have a few options:

• In HTML, type “&#8253 (that’s how I did it, above)
• Check your font’s character palate; you might get lucky
• Type Alt+8253 in MS Windows

If anyone knows of another way to easily make an interrobang, feel free to share. They’re not very easy to find.

Happy interrobanging!

-Nicole