The numeral 1 — This numeral is sometimes written with a serif at the top extending downward and to the left. People in some parts of Europe extend this stroke nearly the whole distance to the baseline. It is sometimes written with horizontal serifs at the base; without them it can resemble the shape of the numeral "7", which has a near-vertical stroke without a crossbar, and a shorter horizontal top stroke. This numeral is often written as a plain vertical line without an ear at the top; this form is easily confused with a capital I, a lower-case L, and a vertical bar |.