Becausse it's mostly .5 and .25 now.

Computer keyboard DO have them. You need to use ALT codes though. For example, if you press and hold ALT then type 0189 you get ½. For ¼ hold ALT then type 0188 and let go of ALT. You have to use the numpad to the right of your keyboard for the alt codes.

CLICK START ----> RUN ----> TYPE: CHARMAP ----> PRESS ENTER ----> YOU CAN CLICK ON THE CHARACTERS YOU LIKE, THEN COPY AND PASTE THEM. ANOTHER WAY IS TO USE THE ALT CODE AND CAN BE SEEN AT THE BOTTOM CORNER OF THE CHARMAP WINDOW. Some random codes I entered using the (hold) ALT (key)+ enter the number ¢£˜¤©§©¦ªà«±» Hold ALT + 0162 will produce a cent sign ¢ ALT + 0176 makes the ° degree symbol ° You can also use the character search function under the advanced view.

Modern computer systems use the enormous Unicode character set, which covers Latin characters, Chinese characters, Amharic characters, Akkadian cuneiform and numerous other character sets. It will eventually also many more character sets such as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mayan. The intent is that in the end every standard character that has appeared in a book (or on a monument) will be included in Unicode. For charcters currently covered by Unicode see http://www.unicode.org/charts . For ½ or ¼ see the Latin-1 set at http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0080.pdf . The Latin-1 characters are found in almost every font that supports any Latin characters. For further symbols go to http://www.unicode.org/charts/symbols.html You will find other fractions in the Number Forms division at http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2150.pdf . No fonts are available that contain all the Unicode characters. But almost all the Latin characters and a good selection of common symbols and all fractions available are found in some of the new Windows Vista versions of some fonts: Times New Roman, Courier New, Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Segoe UI. Or you might download, for free, the DejaVu family of fonts from http://sourceforge.net/projects/dejavu . All modern computers have a standard way of examining a font and seeing what characters are in it and allowing the user to paste these characters into an editor or word processor. On Windows you can use the basic start menu, select the Accessories folder, under that select System Tools, and then select the program Character map. This will allow you to paste the characters into your application and also displays the ALT keystrokes which will generate those characters from the keyboard. Note, that symbol fonts such as Symbol, Wingdings, and Webdings do not use the Unicode character set and for that reason should not normally be used. See http://girtby.net/archives/2005/03/17/dont-use-wingdings/ for a full explanation as to why these fonts can cause problems when used on the web or in files sent to people who don’t happen to have those fonts.

They are there and much more. You can make ½ and ¼ and ¾ and ° degree marks, and ® and © and é. And hundreds more:-) Typewriters could never do those