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The World's Oldest Emoticons (From 1881)

upload.wikimedia.org — Emoticons printed in 1881 in the U.S. magazine Puck.

Who dugg this? Made popular Feb 18, 2009

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134 Comments

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  • ELG83, on 02/17/2009, -0/+89for fear of startling the public...
  • BrianD2, on 02/18/2009, -0/+80٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶
  • BrianD2, on 02/18/2009, -2/+80ಠ_ಠ
  • talkingwires, on 02/18/2009, -0/+72"No copyright."

    Well that's good. The creator's descendants would've pushed to extend copyright to 500 years and be suing us all.
  • twishart, on 02/18/2009, -1/+62"astonishment" looks like Hitler.

    Just sayin'
  • bieber, on 02/18/2009, -0/+48...that would be a printing press, not a type writer
  • gamebittk, on 02/18/2009, -0/+47If anyone's interested, heres a copy of the original magazine fold: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puck_No212_ ...
  • GoodbyeHorses87, on 02/18/2009, -1/+46.....___ ___
    .....(0) ...(0)
    ...........>
    ...........O c======8
  • purplesawdust, on 02/18/2009, -2/+42:3
  • inactive, on 02/18/2009, -0/+37O_o
  • Dacvak, on 02/18/2009, -0/+31ô¿ô
  • aegis9975, on 02/18/2009, -0/+29These old emoticons are superior to the modern ones we have now. . .
  • skippyrandom, on 02/18/2009, -0/+298========D
  • ligyron, on 02/18/2009, -0/+26Whoa. I don't know if our generation is ready for that one
  • docsimmons, on 02/18/2009, -0/+21.....___ ___
    .....(0) ...(0)
    ...........>
    ...........O
  • inactive, on 02/18/2009, -4/+25They own "from prior to 1881"?

    *they're
  • BossKey, on 02/18/2009, -1/+21Today:
    1. Launch software with type rotation capability
    2. Select type tool
    3. Select type
    4. Execute rotate command

    Back then:
    1. Pick up type slug
    2. Turn it
  • bloodinmystool, on 02/18/2009, -1/+20Jesus Christ, it's a lion! Get in the car!
  • randomstupid, on 02/18/2009, -1/+18con this text
  • XFi6, on 02/18/2009, -2/+19I say, ๏̯͡๏﴿
  • andrew47, on 02/17/2009, -0/+16the grandpa of smily
  • inactive, on 02/18/2009, -0/+16Zig smile?
  • roma1092, on 02/18/2009, -0/+15I think the tone of this article is supposed to be lighthearted; Puck was the US's first popular humor magazine, well known for its political cartoons.

    ...and they say there was no humor in the 19th century. Phooey!
  • ousthouse, on 02/18/2009, -0/+14They also released it under an early version of creative commons.
  • babylonian, on 02/18/2009, -3/+17HAHA YOU POINTED OUT HIS TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR NICE COMMENT BRO
  • dbenway, on 02/18/2009, -4/+18Damn, now I can't take anyone seriously unless their from prior to 1881...
  • BossKey, on 02/18/2009, -0/+13It's about emoticons, not eroticons.
  • RadiantSilver, on 02/18/2009, -0/+131881 is a palindrome. Dugg for palindromes.
  • ZeNiTH456, on 02/18/2009, -0/+13Older than the internet.
  • jason210, on 02/18/2009, -0/+13dugg for all caps and bro. i love that. really.
  • insky60, on 02/18/2009, -0/+12It's from the magazine Puck, which was kind of like MAD magazine (except not aimed at 14 year olds). The letter press department (The department responsible for setting up the letters in the printing press) was demonstrating that they didn't need to rely on artists in order to display cartoons. It's pretty funny when it's been put into context. Especially the last line; No copywright.
  • jackyyll, on 02/18/2009, -1/+13>:3
  • mpn401, on 02/18/2009, -0/+11Prehistoric emoticons, interesting. I could also imagine pop-up ads back then if there were such things:

    "Click here to see me show my ANKLES!!"
  • GoatFounDeR, on 02/18/2009, -0/+11¬_¬
  • gnarnia, on 02/18/2009, -0/+11t( '.' t)
  • Greyscale88, on 02/18/2009, -2/+12Random History is fun! ^_^

    Also, 1881 is a cool looking year.
  • oMeSSiaHo, on 02/18/2009, -0/+10Whats it like in the future?
  • ilikedemoon, on 02/18/2009, -3/+13.....___ ___
    .......o....o
    ........._
    .......___


    indifference



  • Dacvak, on 02/18/2009, -0/+10=O
  • dbenway, on 02/18/2009, -0/+10Yup, now I look retarded....
  • gnarnia, on 02/18/2009, -0/+98====DX
    8==X=D
    8=X==D
    8==X=D
    8====DX
    8===D~~~X
  • Espinha, on 02/18/2009, -0/+9Oh no, it's Zoidberg! Bwoop BwoopBwoopBwoopBwoopBwoop.
  • blup3ace, on 02/18/2009, -2/+11palindrome has palin. buried for sarah palin.
  • Paulish, on 02/18/2009, -0/+8Looked like a goatee to me at first.
  • norbiu, on 02/18/2009, -0/+8Not as cool as 1337.
  • NYankee2003, on 02/18/2009, -0/+8No copyright!? They could have made MILLIONS!
  • Nephrastar, on 02/18/2009, -0/+8__ __
    • •
    --
    ___

    Okay, so it's not the best thing ever, but I think I'm close.
  • ShadowofAres, on 02/18/2009, -0/+8Enhance the article by reading that in the voice of the speaker in those old black-and-white propaganda videos.

    Go get 'em, boys!
  • wigglypig, on 02/18/2009, -1/+9WTF! (What Thee Fondle)
  • EquinnoxX, on 02/18/2009, -0/+8Indifference looks like the inspiration for pong
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