> Interestingly, PHP uses separate operators for numerical addition (+) and string concatenation (.), so it's actually a bit more explicit than e.g. Javascript (where 'x + y' could result in normal numerical addition, or normal string concatenation, or implicit conversion to a numerical addition, or implicit conversion to a string concatenation!)

Only because Rasmus didn't know how to design and implement a "proper" programming language. This isn't a intended feature, it just made parsing easier for him.