Python 2 has a backticks feature, but all it ever did was call repr(). It never invoked a command in a shell like backticks do in bash, Perl or Ruby.
In Python 3 the backticks feature was taken out because it's so rarely used that most Python users didn't know it exists - and the thing it did wasn't particularly useful, and it was kinda confusing anyway. You can just type repr(), it's only 4 more bytes. :)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
