From the history of the At Sign on Wikipedia
Great article. This quote was particularly interesting:
On the Indian subcontinent the contemporary way of verbally expressing the @ is still by saying “at the rate of”, even when referring to its use in an e-mail address. With the growing use of information technology companies in India for support and call centres, hearing “at the rate of” in the context of an e-mail address can potentially confuse North American and other native English-speaking technologists.
