Not kidding at all, in the Early 19th Century the following Sign used to be the 27th Letter of the English Alphabet.
&
Whose Name is Ampersand.
But at present there are 26 Letters in the English Alphabet.
& is not included in this.
But even today, & is used in place of and in informal writing.
In British Schools, when children were given Oral Practice of the English Alphabet, 'per se' was followed by Letters that are also used as words within themselves.
Such as A, I and O. For example A per se A, and per se and.
Over time, it changed from 'and per se and' to 'ampersand' whose sign is &.
This is the same mark that appears to be used in writing Johnson & Johnson, Dolce & Gabbana, Marks & Spencer and Tiffany & Co., as well as some abbreviations containing the word and, such as AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph), A&P (Supermarkets), R&D (Researh and Development), D&B (Drum and Bass), R&B (Rhythm and Blues), B&B (Bed and Breakfast) and P&L (Profit and Loss).
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The "&" sign works for both e and t characters.
Therefore, it is also used to write etc.
&c means etc.
