Emoticons First Appeared In 1881 Edition Of Puck Magazine

Emoticons Are Older Than You Think

The emoticon - created by the modern world to express and add emotion to the sanitised language of digital communication, right?

No actually.

The first documented emoticons were used as far back as 1881 - the same year as the first electric tram service, the first metal detector and five years before Coca Cola was even thought of.

They appeared in the March 30, 1881 issue of Puck magazine and show joy, melancholy, indifference and astonishment.

We think they look pretty good...

Close

What's Hot