Can YOU tell which letter is written correctly? Scientists discover most people can't pick out the right G despite seeing it millions of times

  • The lowercase 'looptail g' is used in most novels, magazines and newspapers
  • A new study shows a surprising number of people don't know what it looks like 
  • Many adults tested couldn't pick out a looptail g from a lineup of similar letters
  • A shocking number were unaware that two forms of the letter exist at all

Despite seeing it millions of times, most people are unaware of a common form of the letter 'g'.

The lowercase 'looptail g' is used in most novels, newspapers and email messages, yet a new study shows a surprising number of adults don't know what it looks like.

Many of those tested couldn't pick out a looptail g from a lineup and a shocking number were unaware that two forms of the letter exist at all.

According to the researchers, the phenomenon likely occurs because we don't learn to write the letter's looptail form at school, meaning few of us commit it to memory.

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The lowercase 'looptail g' is used in most novels, newspapers and email messages, yet a new study shows a surprising number of adults don't know what it looks like. Many of the adults tested couldn't pick out the correct looptail 'g' from this lineup (answer: Top right)

The lowercase 'looptail g' is used in most novels, newspapers and email messages, yet a new study shows a surprising number of adults don't know what it looks like. Many of the adults tested couldn't pick out the correct looptail 'g' from this lineup (answer: Top right)

Study lead author Professor Michael McCloskey, a cognitive scientist at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, said: 'We think that if we look at something enough, especially if we have to pay attention to its shape as we do during reading, then we would know what it looks like, but our results suggest that's not always the case.

'What we think may be happening here is that we learn the shapes of most letters in part because we have to write them in school. "Looptail g" is something we're never taught to write, so we may not learn its shape as well.'

Unlike most letters, 'g' has two lowercase print versions.

The first is the opentail that most everyone uses when writing by hand, which looks like a loop with a fishhook hanging from it.

The second is the the looptail g, which is by far the more common, seen in everyday fonts like Times New Roman and Calibri and so in most printed and typed material.

To test people's awareness of each form of g, the researchers conducted a three-part experiment.

In the first test, they investigated whether people knew there were two lowercase print gs.

The team asked 38 adults to list letters with two lowercase print varieties, with just two naming g. Only one could write both forms correctly.

'We would say: "There're two forms of g. Can you write them?" And people would look at us and just stare for a moment, because they had no idea,' said study coauthor Kimberly Wong.

WHY DO WE STRUGGLE TO RECALL DETAILS OF EVERYDAY OBJECTS?

A number of studies have shown that humans often struggle to recall specific details of everyday objects. 

One 2015 study revealed that despite its status as one of the world's most recognisable brands, few people can recall the features of the Apple logo.

Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that only one out of 85 participants could correctly draw the simplistic logo.

Despite its status as one of the world's most recognisable brands, few people can recall the features of the Apple logo
While Americans easily recognise the US penny, few people can pick out the right one in a lineup of 16 similar coins

Despite its status as one of the world's most recognisable brands, few people can recall the features of the Apple logo (left). While Americans easily recognise the US penny (right), few people can pick out the right one in a lineup of 16 similar coins

Another study, this one led by scientists at Tufts University, found in the 1970's that while Americans easily recognise the US penny, few people can pick out the right one in a lineup of 16 similar coins.

Many people failed to remember obvious details, such as the direction Abraham Lincoln's head is turned. 

Researchers at Creighton University in Nebraska recreated this classic recognition game and published it online for anyone to try.

The team said: 'Even though pennies are everywhere, most people don't pay enough attention to be able to guess the correct penny first.

'Your brain will use the colour and even the size of the penny to differentiate it from other coins.

'For most people, it takes three or four incorrect guesses before they get the correct penny.'

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'Once you really nudged them on, insisting there are two types of g, some would still insist there is no second g.'

In the final experiment, 25 participants took a multiple-choice test where they were asked to pick the looptail g from a lineup of four similar characters.

Only seven people picked out the correct answer.

Study coauthor Gali Ellenblum said: 'They don't entirely know what this letter looks like, even though they can read it. This is not true of letters in general.'

Unlike most letters, 'g' has two lowercase print versions, with one - the opentail (right) - usually handwritten while the other, the looptail (left), appearing in typeset. Despite seeing it millions of times, most people are unaware of the letter's looptail form

Unlike most letters, 'g' has two lowercase print versions, with one - the opentail (right) - usually handwritten while the other, the looptail (left), appearing in typeset. Despite seeing it millions of times, most people are unaware of the letter's looptail form

The experiments suggest our knowledge of letters can suffer when we don't write them by hand.

As we write less and become more dependent on electronic devices, this could impact how we learn to read, according to the researchers. 

Professor McCloskey said: 'Our findings give us an intriguing way of looking at questions about the importance of writing for reading.' 

A number of previous studies have shown that we often struggle to pick out particular features of everyday objects or symbols.

One 2015 study revealed that despite its status as one of the world's most recognisable brands, few people can recall the features of the Apple logo. 

Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that only one out of 85 participants could correctly draw the simplistic logo.

Another study, this one led by scientists at Tufts University, found in the 1970's that few Americans can pick out the US penny in a lineup of similar coins. Many people failed to recall that Lincoln's head is turned to the right (stock)

Another study, this one led by scientists at Tufts University, found in the 1970's that few Americans can pick out the US penny in a lineup of similar coins. Many people failed to recall that Lincoln's head is turned to the right (stock)

Another study, this one led by scientists at Tufts University, found in the 1970's that while Americans easily recognise the US penny, few people can pick out the right one in a lineup of 16 similar coins.

Many people failed to remember obvious details, such as the direction Abraham Lincoln's head is turned.

Researchers at Creighton University in Nebraska recreated this classic recognition game and published it online for anyone to try.

The team said: 'Even though pennies are everywhere, most people don't pay enough attention to be able to guess the correct penny first.

'Your brain will use the colour and even the size of the penny to differentiate it from other coins.

'For most people, it takes three or four incorrect guesses before they get the correct penny.'

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