I had the same reaction and had to dig deeper.

Turns out this is a rodeo event called Swine/Hog/Pig “Showmanship.” The competitors are making eye contact with a judge, waiting for signals and to know when they’re paying attention to their animal so they’re can rotate them. They’re tapping the pigs both to steer them (always keeping the pigs between themselves and the judge), and to keep the pigs head pointed upwards. They’re trying to show their control over the animal as well as give the judge views of all sides of them, so different aspects can be assessed.

https://youtube.com/shorts/EdTSBID2u2o

The very first person to write was doing so with the intent of it being read. They didn’t make marks that they didn’t understand and then later discover their meaning. Writing makes no sense without reading. These two things happened in unison, one does not predate the other.

The audiobook is also quite good. It’s fully cast, so each section is voiced by a new actor who writes the letters in the collection.

A student spiked a teacher’s drink with acid. The morning of that day, the kid that got arrested told me he wanted to fight me after school for talking to a girl he liked.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-11-mn-47764-story.html