Infographic: The history of punctuation

Did you know that quotation marks originated as a set of sideways lips surrounding spoken words? Find out where your favorite punctuation marks got their start in this fun graphic.

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We use punctuation every day, but have you ever stopped and wondered who invented that elaborate system of symbols and shapes that help us bring meaning to our writing?

Frankly, I hadn’t given it much thought until I saw this infographic from Arty Facts. It reveals a few interesting stories about who came up with the punctuation writers of today know and love.

For example, did you know that quotation marks got their start as sets of lips turned sideways to indicate that the words they surrounded were spoken?

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