4 September: The Letter B

On this date in 2006, Beyonce’s album B Day was released in the UK. Facts about the letter B, the second letter of the alphabet:

1. It first appeared in the runic alphabet as beorc ⟨ᛒ⟩, meaning "Birch".
2. It is the seventh least frequently used letter in the English language (after V, K, J, X, Q, and Z).
3. In English, it is sometimes silent. Words in which B is silent include lamb, bomb, debt, doubt and subtle. In the case of the latter three, the b is there because it appears in the Latin words they are derived from (debitum, dubito, subtilis).
4. B is the symbol for the element boron, a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid with the atomic number 5.
5. B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins which play a vital part in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds. B1 is thiamine, B2 is riboflavin, and B3 is niacin, for example. Dietary supplements containing all eight are referred to as a vitamin B complex.
6. In England, the B postcode area covers Birmingham, plus northeast Worcestershire, north and west Warwickshire, and part of southeast Staffordshire.
7. As the second letter, B often denotes something which falls slightly short of the top grade (A) or something held in reserve in case the original plan fails: Plan B, a contingency plan, or the B Team.
8. Vinyl single records had two sides. The chart hit was usually referred to as the A side, and the B side would have another, usually less well-known track.
9. In Morse Code B is -... and in the NATO phonetic alphabet B is Bravo.
10. In computer science, B is the symbol for byte, a unit of information storage. In engineering, B is the symbol for bel, a unit of level.

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