Alphabet soup

Originally written in April 2001

Whats in an alphabet? The question is really not as easy as what’s in a name or just as difficult. Yet there is something about the alphabet X  that kind of makes it special. The whole purpose of this article is to find out whether its something that’s gone into the human psyche due to constant emphasis on its association to things futuristic or eerie or is there something really about the alphabet that makes it so very prominent amongst all the other twenty five of its brothers.

The Romans associated the number ten with the alphabet X. The reason being it represented two palms stretched out in opposite directions to show all the fingers. Perhaps there is something about the way the alphabet is represented or drawn kind of attracts us to it. More on that later. Other Roman alphabets do come into our vocabulary quite often like the number one and the number two as in WWI and WWII. However nothing keeps coming back like the alphabet X. Take the case of the X Men. These mutants who fight all that is evil on the planet are associated with a sense of secrecy and immense strength. They have names like Cyclops and Wolverine but collectively they are called the X Men. Would they have been just as popular had they been called say C Men or B Men. Though we did have an A Team.

Talking about entertainment  lets not forget the X Files. A tv series that captured the heart mind and souls of millions of viewers all around the globe. Here the X was used to signify secrecy mystery and intrigue.

Take another case which is making big news these days. Microsoft is touting its X Box as the next big thing for gamers. Its again called the X Box not the D box or the E box. Though like always Microsoft has there own take on Roman numerals. Just open Excel and use the Roman function as specified in the help and you will know  what I am talking about. Apples new operating system is called OS X. Its logical that OS 9 will be followed by OS 10 but why call it OS X and not OS 10 is largely due to the alphabet X.  X windows is another such example.

Another thing that captivates a lot of youngsters is the X Games, Again the alphabet X. Why would u associate games which need a whole lot of skills and acrobatic abilities be associated with the alphabet X. There is nothing that X says that make it an ideal candidate for being associated with any sort of game. Yet its there.

And taking about the alphabet X, let us not forget the bastard child of all knowledge on this planet, Porn. Why is the gradation in porn depicted by the number of XXX’s. The more the X’s the more intense the “action”. Guess a little research on the web regarding this topic will help if you know what I mean.