First they came for Pluto. Then math. Now it’s the alphabet! You might not know your ABCs — or be able to sing along anymore. The alphabet song of our youth has been updated, and confused ...

This new kind of writing first appeared around 1,800 B.C.E.—centuries before the Phoenicians, often credited with inventing the alphabet, began to standardize letter forms around 1,100 B.C.E ...