It’s funny the different names things have. Take this for example: #
What do you call it?
I call it “the number sign”. Vince calls it “the pound sign”. Through the years, I’ve used it in passwords. I’ll say “the number sign” and Vince looks at me like he has no idea what I’m talking about. I say “above the 3”. He’ll say “oh, the pound sign”. If he said to me “use the pound sign”, I’d know what he’s talking about.
The other night Addie was on her little Chromebook and I was telling her something to type. I said “number sign”. She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I said “Oh, sorry . . pound sign”. She said “Granny! I don’t know what you’re asking me to do!” I said “ABOVE THE 3.” She really looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Do you mean . . hashtag???”
Oh, my . . a generation that has no idea what the number sign or the pound sign is.
I was just telling Vince the story. He looked over his computer at me and said “What the hell is a hashtag?”
We’re so old! 🙂
vivoaks says
Hahaha!!! I know exactly how you feel!! And yes, it’s hilarious how we know things by different names, depending on when or where we were born, our teachers and our individual experiences. I would never have called it a hashtag, but number sign or pound sign would both work for me and I’d know what you were talking about.
The use of words changes dramatically over time, as well. Think of the word, “Gay”. Years ago it meant happy. Now if you tried to use it that way, people would think you’d lost your mind! They’d have no clue, even if it made perfect sense to you. I always said I wish I’d been a teen or young adult in the 50’s. That’s where I felt I belonged. Now I’m to the point where I say I’m glad I won’t be around a lot longer. The direction the country and people are going, I don’t want to be here for. Sad, but true.
Elle says
I use it for both number and pound. Although I don’t do insta or twitter, I am aware it is now called hashtag.
What will the dictionary look like when we are 100 years old? 😉
Helen says
Speaking of different names for items…Remember when flip flops were called thongs?! Now, thongs are underwear!!
Cindy F says
This made me laugh!! 😀
PamO says
I did, too.
Donna in KS says
The look I got a couple years ago when I mentioned to grandchildren, male and female present, that I needed a new pair of thongs!!! Still remember that…and the lesson I got that day! Occasionally I still forget.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
That made me laugh! 🙂
Only thing funnier would have been if you had said “Come with me while I try them on!”
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Yes! I forgot about that!
Cindy F says
I call it the pound sign too. I think I must have started calling it that when you would call somewhere and the recording would say “press the pound sign when you’re done.” When it started being called a hashtag I was thinking, why didn’t they just call it the pound sign? I guess hashtag sounds way cooler….lol
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I can’t remember when I heard pound sign. I remember my grandma writing it on her records for what their garden produced and, as a child, I thought, she wrote down that they produced 50 peas and then later I realized it was pounds. Why write that when “lb.” will also do? I only became familiar with hashtag since Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Debi McIntosh says
Judy, this is bizarre. On Sunday my sister was trying to get an appointment with an emergency dentist and their recorded message said to use the pound sign. She is an English teacher and had no idea what it was , so I googled it. Funny we’d never heard of it before. Usually call it hashtag, and I’m 63 and she is 72
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Really? I don’t remember ever having heard it called hashtag til recently and I’ve heard it called pound and number sign as far back as I can remember (which, in reality . . could be yesterday!) 🙂
Donna in KS says
LOL lot of good company in that boat!
Sheryl says
…I’ve always used it for pounds or number. That’s what I was taught in school. The sign has also been used for curse words in comics. Hashtag is blasphemous to me. I’m with Vince###
Sherry Bobak says
I grew up in PA where we called carbonated drinks pop. Then I moved to NC where they just call them drinks. My sister-in-law would get so upset with me when she asked if I wanted a drink and I’d say “Sure, I’ll have a pop.” Then I’d have to laugh.