In comics and cartoons, it's common to see a series of "Z's" indicating an individual is sleeping. But, when and how did the letter Z become linked with sleeping? Actually, "Zzzz" is an onomatopoeic representation of the act of snoring. It sounds like snoring, or at least since 1918. Snoring and sleep became almost interchangeable in comics' language, and this brought on a new agreed-upon standard. In 1918, the American Dialect Society formalized it, and soon after, popular idioms followed, like "catching some z's", for instance. Over time, the letter Z became linked permanently to everybody's favorite biological imperative. (In some cases, they'd use a tiny saw that cuts through a log and both the saw and snore would make the zzzz sound.) As time went on, however, this became linked with sleep in general, A cartoon illustration of a sleeping child. The child has brown hair and is lying peacefully in bed with pillows. Soft clouds and stars surround the scene. The letters 'Zzzz' float above the child
