What does the @ symbol mean to you? New York's Museum of Modern Art has decided the time is right to honour the 'at', by officially adding the concept to its architecture and design collection.

Writing on Moma's blog, senior curator Paola Antonelli said "physical possession of an object as a requirement for an acquisition is no longer necessary" and that that acknowledgement "sets curators free to tag the world" whether objects too large to bring into the museum, or abstract concepts.

The @ symbol, says Antonelli, has become part of the fabric of life around the world.

"Germans, Poles, and South Africans call @ 'monkey's tail' in each different language. Norwegians see a pig's tail, Chinese a little mouse, and Italians and the French, a snail. For the Russians @ symbolizes a dog, while the Finnish know @ as the 'miukumauku', meaning the 'sign of the meow,' and believe that the symbol is inspired by a curled-up sleeping cat. The @ symbol has become so significant that people feel they need to make sense of it; hence it has inspired its own folkloric tradition...

Tracing the history of the symbol, Antonelli explains that it dates back to the 6th or 7th century, according to some linguists, and by 16th century Venice it referred to an amphora, a measurement vessel. It first appeared on a typewriter keyboard in 1885 and was eventually reappropriated by engineer Ray Tomlinson in 1971 - who can take credit for "imbuing it with new meaning and elevating it to defining symbol of the computer age".

"Its potential for such succinct negotiations (whether between man and machine, or between traditional gender classifications and the current spectrum) and its range of application continue to expand. It has truly become a way of expressing society's changing technological and social relationships, expressing new forms of behavior and interaction in a new world."



Moma has added @ to its collection as a design icon. Photograph: _rockinfree/Flickr/Some rights reserved