The exclamation point is arguably the most overused punctuation mark in the English language. Dust off your nearest style book and look it up. The Associated Press calls them emphatic expressions to be used to express a high degree of surprise, incredulity or other strong emotion. I get surprised and incredulous from time to time as much as the next English major and I’ll admit to using the exclamation point when I’m really upset. But when someone uses them all the time, like after a simple thank you, are they really that surprised or incredulous?  I feel like they’re screaming at me. When’s the last time someone screamed thank you? Same goes with bold print and all caps. Hey, we get your point. We can read. And, don’t forget the exclamation point’s cousins the comma and period. They get the job done and they’re much calmer doing it. I’m Grumpy Old Dan Smith, comma, and not a single exclamation point was used in the production of this editorial and thank you. Listen to the Grump on WLHA, the Big 64. Period.