We Know Where It's @

The @ character is the symbol of the Internet age but no one really knows where it came from.

10:35 10 March 2016

The @ symbol, which is crucial for emails and social networking, has been around even before the first computer was introduced. It appeared on typewriters before the end of the 19th century and it was used as a general symbol that meant to readers “this is this many items at this price.”

 

However, Ray Tomlinson, the man widely regarded as the inventor of the email, revolutionise the way we use the “at sign.”  In 1971, he used it in between the user name and destination address when sending a message between two computers in his office. He chose the symbol because it was rarely used in computing, which means that it wouldn’t confuse early programs or operating systems.

 

Keith Houston, author of Shady Characters: Secret Life of Punctuation, said: "The @ symbol appeared on typewriters before the end of the 19th Century. It seemed to be a general symbol that meant to readers 'this is this many items at this price'. It didn't have a use beyond this."

 

When typewriters were replaced by computers, the @ sign became a business tool and had a business use, which indicates unit price eg 12 batteries @ £1 each.