From cave drawing to Twitter: A quick visual overview of the 32,000 year history of the letter A.

3. 32,000 years ago, our ancestors drew animals.

4. One of the animals they drew was an ox.

5. 5,000 years ago, Egyptians also dew an ox.

6. As a hieroglyphic, this ox meant Ox.

7. The trading Phoenicians liked this Ox.

8. So they took its head as a symbol of Ox.

9. The Phoenician word for Ox was “Alf”.

10. The Phoenicians simplified the Ox.

11. Then they rotated it and called it “Aleph”.

12. Aleph became the 1st letter of their Alphabet.

13. 2,500 years ago, the Greeks borrowed Aleph
and rotated it again.

14. The Greeks called it “Alpha”.

15. We simplified it again and called it “A”.

16. Simple, digital, compact. Just a sound now.

17. Amazing progress, isn’t it?
32,000 years from cave to Twitter.

18. But I can’t help thinking that we’ve lost
something along the way.

19. Join me for more lessons like this on:
www.napkinacademy.com
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