The 27th Letter of the Alphabet, Per Se
This sounds like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, but there used to be 27 letters taught to students in the early 19th century. X, Y, Z, and, per se, &. The mumbly students eventually morphed this into Ampersand, of course. Neatorama details this and origins of other everyday punctuation marks like the Exclamation Point, Question Mark, Equal Sign, Dollar Sign, even TAFKAP Symbol (The Artist Formerly Known As Prince). Great typographical trivia.
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Tags: Jason Theodor, Typography