The number sign comes closest to geometric art of all the characters commonly used in the so-called west, but I have never paid it any attention. Until today, that is. It came into focus this morning when I came across an article dedicated to it. A quick search on the World Wide Web tells me that it was introduced in the early years of the last century. The Teletype Corporation in the States was the first to use it to mean “number.” It is called “hash” in Britain, which is a corruption of “hatch” referring to “cross-hatching.” In recent year, is has been used for “hashtagging” on social media, whatever that means. A similar character is used in music to mean “sharp.” There is a Chinese character that looks very much like the number sign, as well. Having learned all of this, I am none the wiser. Returning to geometric art, the number sign beats a number of simple characters in the Latin alphabet in its punch. The characters I have in mind are “I,” “L,” “T,” “H,” and “O.” In typefaces without serifs, such as Helvetica and Geneva, these characters shine through. Not surprisingly, I have used them all in my paintings. Characters like “V,” “W,” and “X” are also quite punchy, but I have never used oblique lines or “diagonals” as I like to call them. At any rate, not a single number sign can be found in any of my paintings. Belatedly, I feel kind of sort of sorry about it. Now that my Cave Art Now cycle is complete, the best I can do is acknowledge the lamentable omission.