Both computer symbols and accents fall under the umbrella of “special characters,” but the special characters keyboard is just your regular keyboard—with a few new hacks.

While the Play/Pause symbols aren’t native to computers, they’ve made their way onto keyboards, media players (real and virtual), and every other device capable of playing audio or video.

Long before the @ symbol found its way into your inbox, it was swirling in a very different kind of communication: wine trade ...