¡™£¢∞§¶•ªº‽

I wouldn't say that I enjoy punctuation marks more than anybody else. If somebody asked me, "Hey, Montgomery, how much do you enjoy punctuation marks?", I would probably respond with, "Not more than anybody else." They serve their purpose, making the written word easier to read and understand.

-Journal of Montgomery, 30 January 1999

That used to be my opinion. But I started thinking about it yesterday, and maybe I do like punctuation more than the "normal" person. You might be thinking, "But Montgomery, you are a normal person." But actually, I'm not. That might surprise a few of you. I'm a little weird. Just a little...

So in this case, my weirdness manifests itself as a healthy appreciation for punctuation. First, I always use proper punctuation when using Instant Messenger. I may be the only person to do this, aside from my brother (who obsesses about punctuation even more than me). Second, i use excessive punctuation in my writing. I throw in gratuitous commas and way more semi-colons than is healthy. My English professor once told me that a person only needs to use one semi-colon in their entire life. The paper he wrote that on had 5 semi-colons on the first page alone (I've cut back since this happened - Semi-Colon Addicts Anonymous (SCAA)). And finally, I have a favorite punctuation mark.

That last sentence might frighten or confuse some people. "Who the hell has a favorite punctuation mark‽," you might be asking with disgust. Well...I do. There are lots of fun little symbols to choose from. The ampersand (&) is fun, made popular by Wheel of Fortune. The dagger (†) and double dagger (‡) have cool names. Legally speaking, the section sign (§) is useful. And internationally, the ogonek (˛) is rather charming. While all these marks have their charm, none of them are my favorite. No, my friends, my favorite punctuation mark ever is the interrobang. Never heard of it? I'm not surprised. So here it is, in all it's glory:

Cool, isn't it? Surprisingly, there is a website with its history found here. Long story short, it was created to replace the "!?" or "?!" combination. It is used to ask questions in an excited manner or to ask questions with disbelief. Here are some examples:

We get to go to Disneyland‽
You ate the whole wheel of cheese‽
Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez got punted to the moon‽
I have what lodged in my colon‽

You can see how handy this little symbol can be. I really think it needs to make a comeback. I'd like to get a suit covered in interrobangs to spread the word, Matthew Lesko style. And it's just fun to say. Interrobang. InterroBANG.

If you don't have the same character palette as me, this post will lose a lot of its charm.

UPDATE: Holy crap! The Partnership for a Drug-Free America uses a version of the interrobang in its logo! That's awesome! I heart TPFADFA!