On Vox: I say potato, and you say potato.

Every time I write a postcard to the States, I have a dilemma - should I cross my 7's, and should I flag my 1's? Living in Israel (or in Europe for that matter) I am used to writing that way. In my handwriting, 7 looks like , and the 1 has this little flag on it. In the US, on the other hand, the 7 doesn't have a crossbar, and the 1 looks like ┃. The two systems are so different, that Americans get totally confused by the way that we write. From my viewpoint, it requires a conscious effort to adapt to their style, producing numbers that look weird on paper. But do I have a choice? Probably not.

Originally posted on wildernesscat.vox.com