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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!brl-adm!seismo!mcvax!ukc!warwick!rlvd!news
From: news@rlvd.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d,misc.misc
Subject: Re: smail pronounciation
Message-ID: <190@rlvd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Mar-87 18:25:26 EST
Article-I.D.: rlvd.190
Posted: Fri Mar  6 18:25:26 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Mar-87 17:32:01 EST
References: <667@rtech.UUCP> <1074@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu> <486@sw1e.UUCP> <1277@beta.UUCP> <517@cod.UUCP> <356@spar.SPAR.SLB.COM>
Reply-To: ian@pyr-a.UUCP (Tom Gunn)
Organization: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Informatics Division, U.K.
Lines: 23
Xref: utgpu comp.sources.d:427 misc.misc:669

In article <356@spar.SPAR.SLB.COM> singer@spar.UUCP (David Singer) writes:
>In article <517@cod.UUCP> rupp@cod.nosc.mil.UUCP (William L. Rupp) writes:
>>In article <1277@beta.UUCP> hp@beta.UUCP (Akkana) writes:
>>>is '#' a number sign,
>>
>>How about 'pound sign'?
>>
>I've heard this referred to as 'number sign', 'sharp', and 'octothorpe'.
>Does the 'pound sign' come from the fact that in UK ASCII this position
>is/was printed as a British poubd sterling currency marker?

Everyone I know refers to the symbol '#' as hash.
US ASCII has no pound (sterling) symbol, so in the UK it is normal to use
'#' when a symbol for pound (sterling) is required. In case anyone does not
know, a real pound (sterling) symbol is a curly l with two horizontal lines
through it.

   Look after the pennies and the hashes will look after themselves.....

Ian Gunn                               UK JANET : ian@uk.ac.rl.vd
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory             UUCP : ..!mcvax!ukc!rlvd!ian 
Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0QX             ARPA : @ucl.cs.arpa:ian@vd.rl.ac.uk
England.	                         'phone : (0235) 21900 ext: 5707