MoMA Acquires "@" Symbol. "WTF" Next?

New York's Museum of Modern Art is adding the ubiquitous typographic icon to its permanent collection. Here's the story behind the acquisition.

Today, MoMA's announced what might be its boldest acquisition ever. And it didn't even cost anything: The "@" symbol is now a part of the museum's permanent design collection.

Which sounds more than a little mystifying. But MoMA's chief design curator, Paola Antonelli, offers a fairly detailed and fascinating rationale.

"@" is more ancient than...