The name-letter effect is the tendency of people to prefer the letters in their name over other letters in the alphabet. Discovered in 1985 by the Belgian psychologist Jozef Nuttin, the effect has been replicated in dozens of studies. Whether subjects are asked to rank all letters of the alphabet, rate letters individually, choose one of two letters, or pick a small set of letters, on average people prefer the letters in their own name, but few are aware that they are choosing letters from their name. The effect has been attributed to the fact that most people associate their names with themselves, and like themselves. People who do not like themselves tend not to exhibit the name-letter effect. In psychological assessments, the Name Letter Preference Task is widely used to estimate implicit self-esteem. There is some evidence that people have been influenced by the name-letter effect even when making important decisions, although many studies have been controversial.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name-letter_effect

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1100:

Henry I was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_of_England

1796:

War of the First Coalition: The Austrian army attempted to break the Siege of Mantua, but were repelled by the French Army of Italy under Napoleon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Castiglione

1816:

Sir John Barrow, Secretary of the Admiralty, rejected a proposal to use Francis Ronalds's electrical telegraph, deeming it as "wholly unnecessary". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Ronalds

1949:

A magnitude 6.8 ML earthquake struck near Ambato, Ecuador, killing 5,050 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Ambato_earthquake

2012:

A white supremacist went on a shooting spree at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, U.S., killing six people and wounding four others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Sikh_temple_shooting

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

matchy-matchy: (fashion) Of clothes or upholstery: excessively color-coordinated. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/matchy-matchy

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We rub the darkness from our eyes, And face our thousand devious secret mornings … And do not see how the pale mist, slowly ascending, Shaped by the sun, shines like a white-robed dreamer Compassionate over our towers bending.   --Conrad Aiken https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Conrad_Aiken