Writing is one of the most powerful medium to reach others. It is the only medium that can be preserved in various forms for later generations to read and receive the message and also can be used again and again without a need to repeat anything. It’s amazing how even in the ancient times when the humans lived in caves they realised the importance of writing and developed their own scripts to share and treasure the knowledge they had. There are different languages and scripts used in different parts of the world.

Fact 1: The Parietal lobe of the brain is mostly responsible for interpretation of words and languages. This is the reason patients with damages to this part of the brain often have difficulty in spelling and writing by hand.

Fact 2: There is a reason why writing helps us remember things better. Writing gets us a better concentration on what we are trying to take in. When we are writing we are stimulating a collection of cells in the Temporal Lobe at the base of the brain known as Reticular Activating System. This is a filter for all the information our brain needs to process and this gives more attention to the current performing activity.

Fact 3: According to some research done in Spain on the reaction of brain for different types of words, the brain interpreted the clichés as just world instead of visualizing them. The words when first used might have evoked a sensory response. However, since the reader has seen these words so many times that they no longer have the same effect as earlier.

Fact 4: When writing for the first time using a new pen, 97% of people write their own names.

Fact 5: Reading is a much better option to improve one’s vocabulary and hence writing than any other ways like watching TV and generally speaking because books contain 50% more rare worlds than any other medium.

Fact 6: Writing can have similar effect like meditation on our minds. This is because while reading the breathing slows down, focus on the subject improves concentration and we get into a zone where words flow freely from our heads. This is the reason why stream of consciousness writing is one of the best ways for de-stressing.

Fact 7: The writing evolved when the word of mouth communication couldn’t reach the entire population as the population grew. The earliest writing was the accounts and lists that were hard to remember without writing down. The earliest writing was on the clay cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, one of the first cities evolved back in 3,300BC.

Fact 8: The oldest handwriting is seen in ‘Vindolanda Tablets’ that were thin wooden wafers about the size of postcards. 400 of these tablets were found in water logged rubbish heap at the ‘Vindolanda Roman’ fort in Northumberland. Most of these were recorded accounts and work schedules. There was also a birthday invitation in Latin which is thought to be the first ever women handwriting example.

Fact 9: First writing materials were different in different regions. The Babylonians used ‘cuneiform’ that were wedge shaped clay tablets. Reeds were used to write on these tablets. The Greeks and Romans moved on to the tablets with a coating of wax on the surface that led to a more elegant, spacious appearance. The original idea of the Papyrus might have evolved from the idea of writing on the tree trunks. Later the wooden shavings were used for transporting the same messages.

Fact 10: Those who are able to write using both hands are called ‘Ambidextrous’. The former American President James Garfield could simultaneously write Greek with one hand and Latin with his other.