Why did Tomlinson pick @?

It was rarely used and meant at

At Sign Quiz: How @ Became the Symbol of Email

This at sign quiz explores how a little curled symbol went from merchants' ledgers to every email address. Play 10 interactive questions on Ray Tomlinson, ARPANET, user and host names, the old meaning at the rate of, the arroba, snail and monkey tail nicknames, typewriters, social media handles and MoMA.

Start At Sign Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Email
Who first used @ in a network email address?
Why
Why did Tomlinson pick @?
Network
On which network did the first @ email travel?
Old
What did @ mean in old commercial writing?
Arroba
What is the arroba in Spanish and Portuguese?
Italian
What do Italians call @?
Dutch
What do Dutch speakers call @?
Typewriter
Where did @ appear long before computers?
Handles
What does @ mark on social media?
Museum
Which museum added @ to its design collection in 2010?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Who first used @ in a network email address?
Answer: Ray Tomlinson
He did it in 1971.
Q2: Why did Tomlinson pick @?
Answer: It was rarely used and meant at
It separated user from computer.
Q3: On which network did the first @ email travel?
Answer: ARPANET
It linked research computers.
Q4: What did @ mean in old commercial writing?
Answer: At the rate of
For example, 10 apples @ 1 dollar.
Q5: What is the arroba in Spanish and Portuguese?
Answer: An old unit of weight
The @ symbol shares the name.
Q6: What do Italians call @?
Answer: Chiocciola, the snail
Its curl looks like a shell.
Q7: What do Dutch speakers call @?
Answer: Apestaart, monkey's tail
Many languages use animal names.
Q8: Where did @ appear long before computers?
Answer: On typewriter keyboards
It was a business symbol.
Q9: What does @ mark on social media?
Answer: A username or mention
Twitter made it popular.
Q10: Which museum added @ to its design collection in 2010?
Answer: MoMA in New York
It was praised as elegant design.

At Sign Quiz – How @ Became the Symbol of Email

Long before computers, merchants used @ to mean at the rate of, as in ten apples @ one dollar each. The symbol appeared on typewriter keyboards, but few people used it.

In 1971 Ray Tomlinson, working on ARPANET, needed a way to separate a user's name from the computer they used. He picked @ because it was rare and read naturally as at, creating the first network email addresses.

Today @ appears in every email address and marks usernames on social media. Languages give it playful names, from the Italian snail to the Dutch monkey's tail, and MoMA added it to its design collection in 2010.

What This Quiz Teaches

Tech fans will enjoy these questions.

Who first used @ in email
Why it was chosen
What it meant before
What languages call it
How it is used today

Did You Know?

Germans call it Klammeraffe, a clinging monkey.
In Hebrew it is sometimes called strudel.
Danes call it snabel-a, elephant's trunk a.
Some scholars trace @ to medieval writing.
Tomlinson did not remember his first test message.