Let’s Bring Back the Interrobang‽

A forgotten font imortalized as wall art.

Okay, hear me out—there’s never been a better time in history to resurrect the glorious, dramatic, ever-so-curious interrobang.

Wait, what’s an interrobang‽

Glad you asked! The interrobang (‽) is that funky little mashup of a question mark and an exclamation point. Think of it as the punctuation equivalent of shouting “Really‽” or “You did what‽” It’s perfect for those moments when you’re shocked and asking a question at the same time.

A Little History (because punctuation has drama, too)

In 1962, ad man Martin K. Speckter decided he was sick of using “?!” or “!?” in ads and wanted a sleeker option. So, he invented the interrobang. The name comes from interrogatio (Latin for question) and bang (printer lingo for an exclamation point). Because of course it does.

It got some love in the ’60s but fizzled out by the ’70s—like shag carpet and fondue sets. Still, the interrobang stuck around in design nerd circles and cheeky writing, waiting patiently for a comeback. (BTW, I have my mother’s flame red fondue pot, which I break out for special occasions, or when I simply want to dip stale bread in hot cheese.)

Many styles, many uses, and some questionable placement.

Seriously, why did this ever go out of style‽ Let’s bring back the punctuation mark that says “I’m shocked and curious” in one fell swoop.

Clutches Pearls

Use it when you’re asking a question and gasping at the same time. Examples:

• “You’re moving to Paris‽”

• “How could you forget my birthday‽”

Typing It Without a Time Machine

Surprisingly, it’s not that hard to drop an interrobang into your text, even if your keyboard is tragically interrobang-free.

On macOS:

• Character Viewer: Press ⌘ + Control + Spacebar, search “interrobang,” and boom—there it is.

• Unicode Shortcut: If your keyboard’s into Unicode, try Option + 203D.

In Google Docs:

• Head to Insert > Special Characters, search “interrobang,” and click to insert.

Microsoft Word Hack:

• Set up an autocorrect rule to swap “!?!” or “?!?” with ‽. (Because automation is magic.)

If your font doesn’t support the interrobang, you can still fake it with “!?” or “?!”. Not as cool, but it gets the job done.