We text with envelope icons, save with floppy disks, and call with phone handles no one actually uses anymore. So why do these old-fashioned symbols endure? The answer lies in nostalgia, design, and ...

Although the first documented use of @ was in 1536, the symbol did not rise from modern obscurity until 1971. Illustration by Erik Marinovich Called the “snail” by Italians and the “monkey tail” by ...