We ♥ Emoji

Nov 1, 2024

Explore the fascinating birth of emojis, starting with their debut in Japan in 1997, exclusively for a forgotten mobile phone. Discover how the quirky 1990s font Wingdings laid the groundwork for graphical communication. Delve into the cultural shift emojis ignited, transforming how we express ourselves in text. Curious about their legal implications? Learn how emojis are making their mark in courtrooms! Plus, uncover the fun origins of the smiley face. Tune in for a colorful journey through emoji history!

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

The Evolution and Impact of Emoji in Modern Communication

02:35 • 4min

The Evolution and Legal Implications of Emojis

06:40 • 3min

Rerun: The first ever emoji set, including the earliest incarnations of 🍷, ❤️, and 💩, was released in Japan on 1st November, 1997. But the only users could send and receive them were owners of a now-forgotten ‘SkyWalker’ handset made by J-Phone. ☹️

Emoji didn’t truly transform written communication in the West until some fourteen years later, when emoji keyboards came by default on iPhone (Android users, incredibly, had to wait until 2013 🤯).

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how unloved 1990s font Wingdings paved the way for graphical communication; ponder whether emojis can be used in legal contracts; and reveal how an obscure internal bulletin board at a University helped to create the smiley, and its opposite, ‘the frowny’...

There are NINE MINUTES more of emoji-based bantz available exclusively to our Patreon subscribers*. What was the OED's Word of the Year, 2015? What are our team's most-used emojis? And does 🙏 represent high-fives, or prayers? Find out now at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors (*top two tiers).