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UNI-026 · Signs

′ ″

The signs for minutes, seconds, feet and inches — forever impersonated by the apostrophe.

The prime ′ marks arc minutes and feet; the double prime ″, seconds and inches: 23°33′S, 5′11″. They are slanted on purpose, drawn to keep company with numbers.

The straight apostrophe and the straight quote are the usual impostors — and the curly ones look even worse in the primes' role. The entities are ′ and ″.

Wrong:  23°33'S, 5'11" tall   (apostrophe and quote faking it)
Right:  23°33′S, 5′11″ tall   (prime and double prime)
Measurements call for primes, not apostrophes.