National Punctuation Day

On National Punctuation Day, I'd like to address the importance of reducing your consumption and use of the exclamation mark.

Toward the end of the 14th century, Italian poet Iacopo Alpoleio da Urbisaglia claimed to have invented the exclamation mark. He gave it a name — the punctus admirativus — and unleashed the modern exclamation mark onto the world! Until the 19th Century it was referred to as the Admiration Mark or the Exclamation Mark. The note of admiration covered situations of rapture, amazement, and wonder. On the other hand, the note of exclamation signified moments of disgust, grief, and anger. The Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised Words and Phrases, published in 1892, mentions that the note of admiration is “now called the note of exclamation.” But, no one used it regularly. It was considered unprofessional.

F. Scott Fitzgerald said using the exclamation mark was like “laughing at your own joke.” German philosopher Theodor Adorno called it “a desperate written gesture that yearns in vain to transcend language.” The exclamation mark is extraneous and cheapens writing. It was so undervalued during this time that it only received its own typewriter key in 1970.

I give myself an exclamation mark budget each year of ten. I use them sparingly in texts and emails and posts. I never overuse the mark. So that when I do choose to use it... people are suitably impressed!

And sometimes, sparingly, I do laugh at my own jokes, Fitz.