How do you draw an X? Up left, down right? Do you start at the top for both lines? You might think the answer is obvious, but as a historic Twitter thread revealed, there are many ways to draw the humble X – and the "correct" version is something hotly contested.

In a call-out that has since amassed over 69,000 likes, Twitter user @SMASEY asked people “Which way do you draw an X?” The post came with a series of eight diagrams showing the different ways in which one can commit pen to paper in order to draw an X. Once you’ve established which path you take, you’ll probably be convinced it's the only way to draw an X.

However, as the comments revealed this is not so as many people defended their way as being the way.

And things got kind of heated

(There is an answer to that toilet paper thing, by the way)

However, across the board, the original poster did identify some patterns.

Some were so bold as to suggest a ninth, surely superior way of drawing an X.

 

 

Some have suggested that the style of X drawing you opt for says something about your personality, but the study of handwriting – known as graphology – as a means of psychoanalysis is largely considered to be pseudoscience.

While your style of X drawing could help a handwriting expert identify your pencraft, they’ll likely find out less about your coping mechanisms and more about whether you penned an incriminating letter.

So, in case you were after a little task to detonate a bomb amongst dinner parties here you have it. Go forth and stir up some graphological drama.

XOXO, Gossip Girl