One good example is the symbol of equality, “=.” This relation was mostly expressed with words in the beginning. Later [René Descartes in France started using the rotated Taurus symbol, “∝,” while [Gottfried Wilhelm] Leibniz in Germany used a wedgelike shape. And [before Descartes and Leibniz] Robert Recorde in [the U.K.] invented the equality sign we use today, though in an elongated form. Mathematicians found themselves in a kind of battle over arithmetical symbols based on popularity. A notable contest was between “+” and “–” versus “p” and “m,” which the Italians preferred for denoting operations. Eventually, the plus and minus signs became universal, as did the English symbol for equality, but only after decades of famous mathematicians competing in these popularity contests to set the trends.