The hashtag symbol was rarely used in any application other than on a touch tone phone up until it was popularized through social media in the last five years. Now, people make jokes about hashtags, put them on T-shirts, and even try to name their children with hashtags. It’s become quite ridiculous, really.

This infographic by Blurgroup takes us from the humble beginnings of the hashtag when it was still called a pound sign by Chris Messina.