What is that upside down 2? (Explainlightenment)

Good question. I’ve been asked this question recently.  Here is the most definitive answer I can cobble together:

It’s a symbol I’ve been using in my signature for years to differentiate myself  from all the other dks. I don’t have a name for it, I’m not entirely sure why.

You’ll  see it in at least one place (my signature)  in just about everything I have done.   In high school I used the eye of horus ,which at the time I called the arcane eye,  as part of my signature . Some people started thinking it was a reference to the band The Sisters of Mercy and I began to  see it in a number other places, so I dropped it for the upside down 2.  The symbol is just a couple of strokes that are natural and comfortable for me to make. I figured if I made something up I wouldn’t keep seeing it everywhere, but admittedly I still see similar marks on occasion . It was never really intended to be a 2, but that’s what it basically is. In it’s true form the round part should curl a bit more than most 2s. For a number of years I also hid it in a kind of  Where’s Waldo fashion in everything I did, but I have become more productive over the years and slowly started to forget to include it in everything. Curiously I am the second of three sons with the initials ‘dk’ , so the fact that it is a 2 makes some sense in the roundabout logic of explaining things after the fact.

I’ve included an image from a Dungeons & Dragons book from a few years back where the symbol was repeated several times.

About dk

Doug Kovacs is an Artist and Illustrator who lives in Chicago
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3 Responses to What is that upside down 2? (Explainlightenment)

  1. Mom says:

    Doug, You are the second son of a second son of a second son, that explains your 2 in your art work ! Mom.

  2. pha says:

    What is this numerology BS? I am the third son of a second son. That equals 32 which is 16 times 2. 16 is divisible by 5 different numbers. 5 is the number of fingers on my hand and I have two hands. Does that mean I should sign everything with an upside down 2 also? Well, does it?

  3. dk says:

    You have a point.
    You would have to start making some art though.
    I suggest an upside down eight.

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