MDBCs 24 Sep 2024

Do you find yourself correcting punctuation while reading a restaurant menu? Do you see red anytime you see an incorrect usage of the apostrophe? Then, Punctuation Day on September 24 is your kind of holiday.

Punctuation Day is the brainchild of the American professional speaker Jeff Rubin who launched it in 2004, and is also known as National Punctuation Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday aims to spread awareness and educate people on proper punctuation and the virtues of using the appropriate punctuation in any kind of writing.

Punctuation Conveys Meaning

Punctuation is the use of typographical signs, spaces and other mutually agreed upon symbols in a language that help the understanding of written text. The main purpose of punctuation is to convey the correct meaning and intent of the text.

Every language has its own punctuation rules and symbols - what conveys one message in one language can convey another in a different language. For instance, in Greek, the semicolon (;) is used to indicate a question, while in English, it is used to connect two sentences that are close in meaning; or to separate elements in a series, where the series has a comma; and to connect two related sentences.

How to Celebrate?

Learn more about punctuation and the appropriate ways of using them.
If you do any type of writing in your job, spend some time going through your work and make sure your writing has all the appropriate punctuation.

Did You Know…

…that the hashtag or pound sign (#) is also formally known as the octothorpe?

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One of my wife’s third graders was wearing a Fitbit watch, which prompted my wife to ask, “Are you tracking your steps?”

“No,” said the little girl. “I wear this for Mommy so she can show Daddy when he gets home.”

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We Uber drivers never know whom we’re going to end up with as a passenger. One day, I was driving over a new bridge, the design of which was very confusing. Completely confounded, I muttered, “I’d love to meet the genius who designed this mess.”

With that, my passenger extended his hand in my direction and said, “Well, today is your lucky day. My name is Mike, I work for the county engineer’s office, and I’m the genius who designed this!”

Surprisingly, he still gave me a tip.

***

At an event famous for giving out awards in bizarre categories, the emcee enthusiastically announces, “The next prize will go to the laziest person in the audience. If you think you qualify, raise your hand.” Everyone raises their hands except a middle-aged man who seems to show little interest.

“Congratulations! You are the winner,” says the emcee to the man. “Your prize is this $100 bill!”

Still showing no emotion, the man replies, “Would you mind coming over here and putting it in my pocket?”

***

A child psychologist had twin boys—one was an optimist; the other, a pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on Christmas Day he loaded the pessimist’s room with toys and games. In the optimist’s room, he dumped a pile of horse droppings.

That night, the father found the pessimist surrounded by his gifts, crying. “What’s wrong?” the father asked.

“I have a ton of game manuals to read … I need batteries … and my toys will all eventually get broken!” sobbed the pessimist.

Passing the optimist’s room, the father found him dancing for joy around the pile of manure. “Why are you so happy?” he asked.