What is it...

Posted by: @not-my-real-name

My friend on Face Book posted this image, saying he would donate to the charity of choice for anyone who could guess correctly.

I wrote that it looks like two surveyors looking at a plumb bob... Wrong.

He gave me credit for imagination and asked if I knew that the origin of plumb bob is from the Latin for lead. I did not know that. Did you?

Also do you know the correct answer??ÿ

Attachment : Y.jpg

Greek letter Upsilon.

@bobwesterman?ÿ

Thank you. It is much more than a letter.?ÿ

Here is a hint. My friend works as a writer for a newspaper.

@not-my-real-name?ÿ

Is it a Wooden Typeset Letter?

@dougie

Excellent! You got it.

It is "the wood" back in the day Newspapers would carve the big headlines from wood, because their typesetter didn't have dies that big.

@not-my-real-name?ÿ

?ÿ

I never wood've guessed it without the hint:

My friend works as a writer for a newspaper

Posted by: @not-my-real-name

My friend on Face Book posted this image, saying he would donate to the charity of choice for anyone who could guess correctly.

I wrote that it looks like two surveyors looking at a plumb bob... Wrong.

He gave me credit for imagination and asked if I knew that the origin of plumb bob is from the Latin for lead. I did not know that. Did you?

Also do you know the correct answer??ÿ

Attachment : Y.jpg

Same as "plumber" and "plumbing" - the Romans used lead for their water piping. And the Periodic Chart symbol for lead is "Pb".

Even after Linotypes were gone, they were used for many years for headlines as digital typesetting machines couldn't make huge type. About 10 years ago I visited a cool museum with tons of wood letters and old printing machines in Two Rivers Wisconsin.?ÿ

This message board would be my charity of choice. ?ÿSee link in signature line below.

@brad-ott?ÿ

That would be my choice too, but I did not know the answer.