Punctuation Mark News: Meet the Interrobang!

In 1962, Manhattan ad man Martin Speckter wanted a punctuation mark that would “express that hard-to-capture middle state between excitement and inquiry: incredulity.” He merged the question mark and exclamation point into one symbol, dubbing it the “interrobang,” a portmanteau of “interrogate” and “bang” (printers’ jargon for an exclamation point). The symbol never caught on, as most typewriter companies were hesitant to add a new key.

But technology has evolved, and the interrobang could finally have its day as the punctuation mark for the twenty-first century.

Friedman champions the interrobang, noting its “capacity to pique interest and reinforce the effect of frenzied sentences” such as "She said what!?" or the ubiquitous "WTF!?" http://www.utne.com/GreatWriting/Punctuation-Mark-News-Meet-the-Interrobang.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=iPost