OH! What a pity

Taxis and other car transport or service providers, maritime communicators, all generally use the phrase "zero" when indicating a numerical value.

As well as a verbal instance of potential error, there is sometimes the visual disparity to cope with where there is mixing of vehicle number plate letter and numeral assignments featuring the alphabetical "O" displayed together with a numerical "0". Obviously, this could cause identification problems.

Indeed, I wonder if there has ever been issued a car number plate OO-000? Even without layers of mud or grime it would be a problem to be absolutely certain of its registered number by relying on an awareness of the width difference between a printed O, and the numeral 0.

It would also be most noticeable to comprehension if the number "1" was rendered as "I", particularly if someone said that 10 a.m. was "Aye Oh" clock. Why not such a logical transposition of sounding? After all, they both look as similar as an O does to a 0.

Taking its place amongst wrongly pronounced letters is yet another offender, the overworked "haitch" used in place of "aitch", although this trend appears to stem from various religious or ethnic practices.

It has also been used widely in a comical sense, as in the case of a clever television advertising name recognition and branding campaign for the Sydney wood merchant, Hudson's, as actor Billy Kearns memorably espoused the company as " 'Udson's with a Haitch".

Turning to the printed or handwritten recording of text, there is a method and style used by many professional message handlers to overcome accuracy and intent challenges.

In written message transmission, it is often the case that an "O" is portrayed in its usual shape, but a zero is better written as on O with slash through it …êŠ.

This style of handwriting takes a little time to become an automatic response to hearing a zero within a message, but is a good way to avoid confusion, much as sometimes the figure 7 is occasionally written with a slash through the vertical stroke to avoid any confusion with a number 1 when handwritten speedily.

What I have discussed is the logical use of preferred styles to avoid information confusion. What I have not been able to discuss is how to help people avoid my pedantic frowning as I hear them say "OH" when the really mean "Zero".

Oh well… maybe nought will come of it all.