Poll of the Day > Today's Poll... (1/7)

(+) Yeah! (+)

People actually use '#' as a pound '£' sign? What is this madness?
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I've no idea. Only us British have a need for a £ and we've got a £. # is definitely hash or sharp depending upon your musical leanings.

But # is most certainly not £.
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i was expecting everyone to say hashtag. The results made me... proud of you guys :)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign
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Today isn't January 7th.
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The UK doesn't have automated call services that ask you to hit the #/pound sign to confirm your information?
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On the phone it's pound sign. If preceding a number, it's a number sign. If on any social media site it's a hashtag
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BubbleGumCrisis posted...

The UK doesn't have automated call services that ask you to hit the #/pound sign to confirm your information?

They do but it is always called hash

Today is 2017/07/01.


Also it's a pound sign because

thecolorgreen posted...

On the phone it's pound sign

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richisdisturbed posted...

People actually use '#' as a pound '£' sign? What is this madness?

Fun Fact: the world "pound" means a lot more than you think it does.

# and £ are both "pound" signs, but they are signs that represent different types of pounds.


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5# is not the same as £5
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Terminonatator posted...

Today isn't January 7th.

Most other countries switch month/day.
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Terminonatator posted...

Today isn't January 7th.

Almost every single country uses the DD/MM format. The USA is in the vast minority on this one.
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I follow ISO 8601:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601
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THE_TRUTH_01 posted...

Terminonatator posted...

Today isn't January 7th.

Almost every single country uses the DD/MM format. The USA is in the vast minority on this one.

Are you saying minorities don't matter? Racist!
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I have never, nor will I probably ever, heard someone proclaim the # meaning pound. I understand there are different types of pounds, but even so, this is madness.

Also, today is the 1st of July, hence 1/7, America needs to get with the times on that one.
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Different kind of pounds, homie

MICHALECOLE posted...

Different kind of pounds, homie

Yeah, I read the Wiki link someone posted.

Using 5# instead of 5lbs, America never fails to surprise me with how it uses the English language. I was proper like the fuck when I first saw the poll. I understand now!
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As far as I know it's only called pound on telephones. Pound was easily the most common name before twitter made hashtags mainstream; runner-up would probably be number sign. And hey this poll backs that up, seeing as this site is full of grandpas that hate the internet and modern trends and shit. The "I refuse to acknowledge twitter even though it's like the 10th most popular website in the world" crowd.

It's really funny to see brits trying to get defensive over the use of pound and monopolize it when they've a fifth of the population of the US, ignoring the rest of the world that doesn't give a shit about the pride they have for their currency.
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PresidentChoice posted...

i was expecting everyone to say hashtag. The results made me... proud of you guys :)

Totally this!
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Veedrock- posted...

As far as I know it's only called pound on telephones. Pound was easily the most common name before twitter made hashtags mainstream; runner-up would probably be number sign. And hey this poll backs that up, seeing as this site is full of grandpas that hate the internet and modern trends and shit. The "I refuse to acknowledge twitter even though it's like the 10th most popular website in the world" crowd.

It's really funny to see brits trying to get defensive over the use of pound and monopolize it when they've a fifth of the population of the US, ignoring the rest of the world that doesn't give a shit about the pride they have for their currency.

Hold on, based on your logic, should you be talking Chinese? Seeing as how the US population is 1/5 of Chinas making what you think irrelevant to them? The irony is stating the rest of the world doesn't care for our currency pride whilst failing to realize that the rest of the world laugh at Amrican's pride in America (USA, USA, USA!! That chant is so damn cringy!). But let's not turn this into a UK V USA flame war, you'll only lose. :)
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richisdisturbed posted...

Using 5# instead of 5lbs, America never fails to surprise me with how it uses the English language.

Whoa, whoa I never saw this in America

I voted for number sign
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-Komaiko54- posted...

richisdisturbed posted...

Using 5# instead of 5lbs, America never fails to surprise me with how it uses the English language.

Whoa, whoa I never saw this in America

I voted for number sign

You are one of the smart ones! :D :D
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Damn, rich really is disturbed.

Cacciato posted...

Damn, rich really is disturbed.

At least punctuate my name properly, if you're gonna throw out lame lines like that, it's the least you could do. :)
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richisdisturbed posted...

Hold on, based on your logic, should you be talking Chinese? Seeing as how the US population is 1/5 of Chinas making what you think irrelevant to them? The irony is stating the rest of the world doesn't care for our currency pride whilst failing to realize that the rest of the world laugh at Amrican's pride in America (USA, USA, USA!! That chant is so damn cringy!). But let's not turn this into a UK V USA flame war, you'll only lose. :)

What? Ok two things:

1) I'm not telling China to "get with the times" like you are to America.
2) China voted for "pound sign." SUCK IT!

Stick to the topic please. You went on an incoherent tangent for no reason.
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Veedrock- posted...

richisdisturbed posted...

Hold on, based on your logic, should you be talking Chinese? Seeing as how the US population is 1/5 of Chinas making what you think irrelevant to them? The irony is stating the rest of the world doesn't care for our currency pride whilst failing to realize that the rest of the world laugh at Amrican's pride in America (USA, USA, USA!! That chant is so damn cringy!). But let's not turn this into a UK V USA flame war, you'll only lose. :)

What? Ok two things:

1) I'm not telling China to "get with the times" like you are to America.
2) China voted for "pound sign." SUCK IT!

Stick to the topic please. You went on an incoherent tangent for no reason.

Hold on;

seeing as this site is full of grandpas that hate the internet and modern trends and shit. The "I refuse to acknowledge twitter even though it's like the 10th most popular website in the world" crowd.

It's really funny to see brits trying to get defensive over the use of pound and monopolize it when they've a fifth of the population of the US, ignoring the rest of the world that doesn't give a shit about the pride they have for their currency.

Do you understand irony? Laughable.
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PresidentChoice posted...

i was expecting everyone to say hashtag. The results made me... proud of you guys :)

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richisdisturbed posted...

MICHALECOLE posted...

Different kind of pounds, homie

Yeah, I read the Wiki link someone posted.

Using 5# instead of 5lbs, America never fails to surprise me with how it uses the English language. I was proper like the fuck when I first saw the poll. I understand now!

not what it's used for at all. # is called a pound sign on phones. lbs is used for pounds....
or...

MICHALECOLE posted...

Different kind of pounds, homie

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Krazy_Kirby posted...

richisdisturbed posted...

MICHALECOLE posted...

Different kind of pounds, homie

Yeah, I read the Wiki link someone posted.

Using 5# instead of 5lbs, America never fails to surprise me with how it uses the English language. I was proper like the fuck when I first saw the poll. I understand now!

not what it's used for at all. # is called a pound sign on phones. lbs is used for pounds....
or...

MICHALECOLE posted...

Different kind of pounds, homie

Taken from the link above;

Mainstream use in the United States is as follows: when it prefixes a number, it is read as "number", as in "a #2 pencil" (indicating "a number-two pencil"). When the symbol follows a number, the symbol indicates weight in pounds. (Five pounds are indicated as 5#.) This traditional usage still finds handwritten use, and may be seen on some signs in markets and groceries. It is also commonly known as the "pound sign"
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^taken from a wiki link. anyone can edit those. i have never seen or heard someone use # for a weight measurement. if they do then they have used it incorrectly.

it would be like someone saying "i bought too games today"- just because they used "too" instead of "two" doesn't mean they are correct.
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Krazy_Kirby posted...

^taken from a wiki link. anyone can edit those. i have never seen or heard someone use # for a weight measurement. if they do then they have used it incorrectly.

it would be like someone saying "i bought too games today"- just because they used "too" instead of "two" doesn't mean they are correct.

I have never seen or heard someone use # for a pound sign, if they do, they have used it incorrectly. Right?
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Whenever you call a place with automatic customer service it'll tell you to input numbers and when you're finished enter pound (#)
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JixHedgehog posted...

Whenever you call a place with automatic customer service it'll tell you to input numbers and when you're finished enter pound (#)

Only in America.
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richisdisturbed posted...

I have never, nor will I probably ever, heard someone proclaim the # meaning pound.

For 40 years, I have only ever referred to it as either the "number sign" or the "pound sign", and give dirty, disdainful looks to anyone who refers to it as anything resembling "hash".

Then again, for 40 years, I have only ever referred to elevators, flashlights, and soda as those things, and have never heard a single person refer to them as "lifts", "torches", or "pop" (except occasionally people on TV or the Internet).

Your issue might be a regional thing, an age thing, or just because everyone you've ever known is a terrible person.


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

richisdisturbed posted...

I have never, nor will I probably ever, heard someone proclaim the # meaning pound.

For 40 years, I have only ever referred to it as either the "number sign" or the "pound sign", and give dirty, disdainful looks to anyone who refers to it as anything resembling "hash".

Then again, for 40 years, I have only ever referred to elevators, flashlights, and soda as those things, and have never heard a single person refer to them as "lifts", "torches", or "pop" (except occasionally people on TV or the Internet).

Your issue might be a regional thing, an age thing, or just because everyone you've ever known is a terrible person.

Nope, it's because America is crazy moreso than anything else. :P
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richisdisturbed posted...

Nope, it's because America is crazy moreso than anything else. :P

So I rest my case. You're just a terrible person from a terrible place surrounded by terrible people.


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richisdisturbed posted...

Krazy_Kirby posted...

^taken from a wiki link. anyone can edit those. i have never seen or heard someone use # for a weight measurement. if they do then they have used it incorrectly.

it would be like someone saying "i bought too games today"- just because they used "too" instead of "two" doesn't mean they are correct.

I have never seen or heard someone use # for a pound sign, if they do, they have used it incorrectly. Right?

http://blog.dictionary.com/octothorpe/

It is called the pound sign because the symbol comes from the abbreviation for weight, lb, or “libra pondo” literally “pound by weight” in Latin. When writing lb, it was not uncommon for scribes to cross the letters across the top with a line across the top, like a t. See the example below.

http://static.dictionary.com/homepage/carousel/June-2012/lb.jpeg

The phrase “number sign” arose in Britain because “pound sign” could easily be confused with the British currency. The # symbol is sometimes spoken as the word “number” as in the word “number two pencil.”

It was called the pound sign before it was called the number sign. While the practice of writing 5# (approximated) is now relatively dated, it was called the number sign specifically due to the potential confusion for British currency. Not to mention that the octothorpe has numerous other potential meanings depending entirely on the context, thanks largely to technology that's become widespread these past few decades. Welcome to the world of semiotics.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

richisdisturbed posted...

Nope, it's because America is crazy moreso than anything else. :P

So I rest my case. You're just a terrible person from a terrible place surrounded by terrible people.

I'm not American, have you not figured that out by now?
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Tropic_Sunset posted...

richisdisturbed posted...

Krazy_Kirby posted...

^taken from a wiki link. anyone can edit those. i have never seen or heard someone use # for a weight measurement. if they do then they have used it incorrectly.

it would be like someone saying "i bought too games today"- just because they used "too" instead of "two" doesn't mean they are correct.

I have never seen or heard someone use # for a pound sign, if they do, they have used it incorrectly. Right?

http://blog.dictionary.com/octothorpe/

It is called the pound sign because the symbol comes from the abbreviation for weight, lb, or “libra pondo” literally “pound by weight” in Latin. When writing lb, it was not uncommon for scribes to cross the letters across the top with a line across the top, like a t. See the example below.

http://static.dictionary.com/homepage/carousel/June-2012/lb.jpeg

The phrase “number sign” arose in Britain because “pound sign” could easily be confused with the British currency. The # symbol is sometimes spoken as the word “number” as in the word “number two pencil.”

It was called the pound sign before it was called the number sign. While the practice of writing 5# (approximated) is now relatively dated, it was called the number sign specifically due to the potential confusion for British currency. Not to mention that the octothorpe has numerous other potential meanings depending entirely on the context, thanks largely to technology that's become widespread these past few decades. Welcome to the world of semiotics.

I have looked it up and understand why now, no need to explain again, but thanks. My post you quoted was just showing the logic of the user I replied to.
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richisdisturbed posted...

I have looked it up and understand why now, no need to explain again, but thanks. My post you quoted was just showing the logic of the user I replied to.

Oh, I missed that in my skim. Well, I'll leave it up for others who legitimately don't know.
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richisdisturbed posted...

Cacciato posted...

Damn, rich really is disturbed.

At least punctuate my name properly, if you're gonna throw out lame lines like that, it's the least you could do. :)

It was a lot more polite than the adjective I would've chosen. I would've gone with some alliteration if that helps you figure it out.

richisdisturbed posted...

Using 5# instead of 5lbs, America never fails to surprise me with how it uses the English language. I was proper like the fuck when I first saw the poll. I understand now!

You should check out the poll results page and click on the "View Map and Detailed Results" button to bring up a voting map where you can hover over any country to see how they voted. There's a huge difference between the US and the rest of the world. Canada is generally similar to the US on most things.
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Never heard of the "pound" name or meaning (abr. of lbs) before today. I also thought people were confusing it with £.

In my language it's called a "fence", but it was rarely used. It's commonly called hashtag now.

Which is incorrect. Sincs it's a hash, used as a tag.
Hash is a nickname. Number symbol is the official name. "pound" is a regional (US) name but also correct.

Sharp (music) is actually another symbol (cross looks different) so that's even more incorrect than hashtag. (That name eas made popular by microsoft)

Octatherp is a silly made up name.

benbeverfaqs posted...

Number symbol is the official name.

It....really isn't.
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