10 Items Tagged

Alphabets

Zaragoza, Spain

El Alma del Ebro

This fantastical faceless sculpture in Spain is on the grandest scale.

Seoul, South Korea

National Hangeul Museum

Celebrating the history of Hangul, the Korean writing system invented by King Sejong to improve his realm’s literacy.

The use of the letter x as a mathematical unknown is a relatively modern convention. Algebra has been around for a lot longer.

Why Is 'X' Such a Big Deal?

From Twitter's rebranding to algebra, this single letter has an uncommon amount of...X factor. A historian of mathematics gets to the root of it.

Peter Schumer August 4, 2023

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

Puzzle Monday: The Mystery of the Missing Runes

Alex Bellos July 10, 2023

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

Puzzle Monday: Does English Need a New Alphabet?

Alex Bellos March 13, 2023

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

Puzzle Monday: The Signs of Ethiopian Identity

Alex Bellos January 16, 2023

The telephone was a major driver of the development of spelling alphabets.

It Might Be Time to Update the Old 'Alfa-Bravo-Charlie' Spelling Alphabet

But it's hard to break old habits.

Dan Nosowitz July 12, 2019

Rixing Type Foundry

Taiwan's last Chinese character letterpress preserves the dying art of Chinese character mold making.

This Viking comb had the word "comb" inscribed on it.

Found: A Viking Comb That Says 'Comb'

It is helping researchers understand runic inscriptions, so maybe we should all start labeling our stuff.

Vittoria Traverso January 15, 2018

A slate whetstone found during railroad construction.

Found: A Runic Inscription on a Viking Whetstone

Experts in Norway are asking the public to help tell if it is a name or something more sinister.

Vittoria Traverso December 6, 2017