15 hours ago
- Thorpe is the back half of 'octothorpe', the name for the # symbol used to start Markdown headings.
- The term was coined at Bell Labs in the 1960s when # and * were added to the touch-tone keypad.
- 'Octo-' refers to the symbol's eight points, while the origin of '-thorpe' is disputed.
- Possible origins for '-thorpe': referencing athlete Jim Thorpe, a joke called 'octatherp', or from Old Norse 'thorp' meaning hamlet.