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We have all known the alphabet song since we were tiny little kids. You know how it goes… “A, B, C, D, E, F, G…” etc.
It ends with “W, X, Y and Z… Now I know my ABC’s, next time won’t you sing with me.”
Pretty basic knowledge, right? Well, it is, until you find out that there used to be a 27th letter in the alphabet.
I know, right? You’re thinking, “Everything I have ever been told about the alphabet is a lie.”
Actually, no, but it is quite strange to find out there used to be a 27th letter and it is something that many of us have used numerous times in our lives when writing or typing something out.
In a TikTok video shared by @zachdfilms3 where they share several little known facts, like why highway signs are always green, they revealed that the ampersand used to be the 27th letter in the alphabet.
What’s an ampersand I can hear some of you asking? It’s this: &.
That’s right, the shorthand sign for “and” used to be an actual letter.
As they explain in the TikTok video, the ampersand used to come in order after the letter Z.
“But when reciting the alphabet, students weren’t allowed to just say ‘and’ after Z,” they explained. “Instead they were taught to differentiate the symbol by saying ‘per se’ before it, it sounded something like this ‘Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z and per se and.’”
That’s how the symbol would eventually morph into being called “ampersand.”
Crazy, right? Now. put your brain back together and go find out why highway signs are always green and have your mind blown again.
@zachdfilms3 Why Highway Signs Are Green 🤨
Oh, by the way, þ, ȝ and Œ also used to be letters in the alphabet as well.