Ever heard of the interrobang punctuation mark‽ Well, it might just be your new favorite way to end a sentence – and yes, it's grammatically correct. Here’s a little bit about how the interrobang came to be and why you might be seeing a lot more of it in 2023, especially from nowly.

What’s an Interrobang‽  

Coined by Martin K. Speckter in the early 1960s, the use of a question mark and exclamation point, written together as “‽”, is the perfect way to express both excitement and questioning in your sentence.  The word “interrobang” itself is actually a combination of the words interrogate, to suggest a rhetorical question or cross examination, and bang, referring to a printer’s slang word for an exclamation mark.

Although an interrobang is most commonly used today as a pairing of the question mark and exclamation point, such as “?!” or “!?”, the punctuation mark lives on through its historical use in the logos of the Punctuate Theatre in Alberta, Canada and the State Library of New South Wales, and now through nowly!

Even though the interrobang is a punctuation mark that’s not typically seen in informal writing, we feel it’s the perfect way to express a unique form of excitement. That’s why we’ve created our very own nowly-branded interrobang!

You might see us use it in contexts like: “You haven’t started living nowly‽”, “Ready for your complimentary healthy living benefits‽”, or maybe, we’ll see you use it when you say something like “Can my rates really be that affordable ‽”. It’s a fun and playful way to convey enthusiasm. 

Here are our favorite examples of the different ways to use the interrobang: 

• “Say what‽” 
• “You can’t be serious! You’ve never seen an episode of Friends‽” 
• “Are you kidding‽” 
• “Did you eat all my cake‽” 
• “How did you know‽” 

Using the interrobang to make 2023 your best year yet! 

Just like our friend, Speckter’s approach to creating the interrobang, this year is all about being ambitious with your ideas, questioning and reflecting on this past year, and getting excited about all the amazing things that are yet to come. Here are some examples of how you can bring the use of the interrobang into your new year. Inspired by Speckter, you can ask yourself light-hearted questions such as:  

• “It’s already 2023‽ Where did all the time go‽” 
• “How am I going to make the most out of this next year‽”
• “Getting life insurance is an important part of my financial plan‽” 

Although the exclamation in the interrobang adds a humorous light, asking yourself real questions and embracing enthusiasm is a lesson we can all learn from this punctuation mark. 

With new year's goals in mind, we challenge you to join us this year as we take on the living nowly mindset and lifestyle. Once you’ve protected you and your loved ones with life insurance, you can embark on the new year with the confidence and freedom that comes with living nowly. With rates starting as low as $5 a month, ensuring the financial future of your loved ones has never been so affordable.  

So, what are you waiting for‽ Let’s start this year off with an (interro)bang together and begin living in the now(ly)!