Gorton is everywhere

Gor-what now? Plenty of you nerds have already found this, but I’ve only just read that extraordinary article [aresluna.org] about one of the simplest and most ubiquitous fonts, “Gorton” — certainly the oldest widely used one wherever letters needed to be carved into metal or plastic. Many words (6100) and photos (600). If you have any interest in type at all, read for at least 5 minutes to get a sense of the thing … but it just keeps expanding in scope. Because this font is just everywhere, from the nearest elevator to outer space.

When I went out into the world to find a sample of it, I found one in less than two minutes.

P.S. This is also a great example the kind of long-form writing I’d like to do more of. While short pieces have their place, ultimately I don’t know what I’m doing as a writer if I don’t exhaustively explore the occasional dorky rabbit hole. And I’m thinking a lot about “what to write” as I continue to revive this here blog.