We use this every day as a stand-in for love and the human heart, but it doesn't really look like the real thing.

我们每天都用这个符号代表爱以及人类的心脏，但这符号和真正心脏的模样其实有点差距。

Zachary Crockett at Priceonomics has looked into the history of this.

Priceonomics 的 Zachary Crockett 研究了爱心图案形成的历史。

He says that there are relics resembling the heart shape from 3,000 BC, but these shapes stood for ivy or fig leaves, not the heart.

他表示，公元前三千年留下的遗迹中有类似心型的图案，但这些图案是代表长春藤或无花果叶片，而非心脏。

It wasn't until several centuries later that the heart became a symbol representing "love."

直到几世纪之后，心脏的形状才成为代表“爱”的象征。

But the problem was they didn't really know what the heart looked like, partially because the Catholic Church prohibited autopsies.

但问题是，他们不太清楚心脏到底长什么样子，一部分可能是因为天主教会禁止尸体解剖。

So when artists tried to draw the heart as a symbol of love, like in this French manuscript from 1250, it looked like this.

所以，艺术家试着要画心脏图案来代表爱的时候，就像这个公元 1250 年的法国手稿，画起来就像这样。

By the time detailed anatomical drawings appeared, like those of Leonardo da Vinci in the early 16th century, the simplified symbol had already taken root.

到了详细解剖图出现的时代，如十六世纪初达文西的作品，简化符号的表现方式早已固定了。

It became a popular image in Catholic symbolism as well as secular things like decks of cards.

爱心成为神圣天主教符号与世俗卡牌的普及象征图案。

Eventually, New York City's 1977 campaign turned the heart symbol into a verb...

终于，纽约市 1977 年的活动将爱心符号转成一个动词...

I love New York. ...replacing the word "love."

我爱纽约。 ...代替“爱”这个字。

Now it's used in everything romantic: Valentine's Day cards, emojis, chocolate.

现在爱心符号用在所有浪漫的东西上：情人节卡片、图释、巧克力。

But you can also find it in video games, on Twitter, and in ads for heart-healthy food.

但你也可以在电动游戏、推特和心脏健康食品的广告上看到爱心。

It might be a poor likeness for the human heart, but that's what makes it such an enduring and versatile symbol.

虽然这个符号和人类的心脏一点也不像，但这也是为什么这个符号可以被如此广泛运用，且历久不衰。