French pen maker BIC analysed 868,227 characters from 111 countries to create an average typeface alphabet. It can be explored by gender, age and country (pictured).

The Letter and the Cosmos: How the Alphabet Has Shaped the Western View of the World Laurence de Looze. Univ. of Toronto, $24.95 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-1-4426-2853-3 ...