Recently, the Planet Money podcast devoted an episode to the signature.

Here is a description of the podcast from NPR websites:

Some people write a squiggle. Others just write an initial. One person draws a dude surfing.

Today on the show: the signature. It’s supposed to say, “This is me.” But where did the idea come from? And why are we still using it? We consult a rabbi, a lawyer and a credit card executive.