Designer and fellow San Franciscan Chris Simmons of MINE writes:

Since I was a child I have been fascinated with the ampersand. I used to type my high school papers on a typewriter and that key always stood out to me. “Eh” Be” “Cee” “Dee” “Dollar Sign” “Ampersand?” It was such a strange character and had such a foreign-sounding name. “Why is it called an ampersand?” I used to wonder. Was it invented by a Mr. Amper (Amper’s and)? Was there such thing as an amper and if so was what was their plurality manifest in an “&”? Years later I found out that the ampersand was a ligature of “e” and “t” thus forming the latin word “et” meaning “and: but I still didn’t know what this ampers business was all about. A few years ago I tracked down the origin, and now I feel somewhat complete where this symbolic conjunction is concerned: The word “ampersand” is derived from the explanation one might give to explain what the “&” symbol represents. One might write, “&” per se “and” (the ampersand symbol to say the word “and”). Now, speak this sentence aloud several times quickly and you and you’ll know how the term was derived, “And per se and. And per se and. And per se and. Andperseand. Ampersand.”