Uhm, I hate to break this to you, but that NASA screen capture you chose, those ARE em-dashes.
Uhm, hate to break this back to you, but no, they aren't.
Nasa dash copied & pasted: –
Em dash: —
If you have difficulties spotting the difference, let me unbreak it for you by placing them in sequence, Nasa followed by em dash:
– —
And FYI, em dash is the proper way to go.
It's not, even Chat GPT the master of the em dash disagrees with that:
Q: is the em dash or regular dash more common and widely distributed?
A:
The
regular dash (specifically the
hyphen, -) is
more common and widely distributed than the
em dash (—), especially in everyday writing and across most languages and systems.
Here's why:
1. Hyphen (-)
- Most common use cases:
- Compound words: well-known, part-time
- Word breaks at line ends
- Phone numbers: 123-456-7890
- Ubiquity: Found on all keyboards and used in many languages.
- Unicode / ASCII: The hyphen is part of basic ASCII, making it compatible with almost all software and platforms.
2. Em dash (—)
- Typical use cases:
- Indicating breaks in thought: She was going to—wait, what was that?
- Emphasizing or replacing parentheses/commas.
- Less accessible: Not directly on most keyboards; often requires special input (e.g., Alt+0151 on Windows, Shift+Option+Minus on Mac).
- Used mainly in formal/creative English writing; much less common in technical, scientific, or international documents.
Conclusion:
The
hyphen (or regular dash) is
more common and widely distributed due to its broader function, international use, and universal keyboard presence. The
em dash, while stylistically valuable in certain types of English prose, is more niche in comparison.
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