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September 19, 2005 | :-) | 3284 hit(s)

Today (9/19) is the 23rd birthday of the smiley emoticon. :-) Should you doubt my word, read the history provided by the inventor himself, Scott Fahlman.

Since Scott's pretty much said it all here, let me provided added value by linking to ...

... some emoticon dictionaries (#, #).[1] See also this list of Windows Messenger icons [(L) = , (D) = ], emototags [<grin>], standard and alternate/non-sideways smileys [(^_^) = male smiley], and acronyms [BRB = "be right back"].
... definitions of emoticons (WikiPedia, Webopedia, Jargon File).
... netiquette and emoticons (PC World, Microsoft).
... scholarly papers ("Emoticons - A Strategy In Attempt At Multimodality For Computer Mediated Written Communication", "Using Emoticons to reduce Dependency in Machine Learning Techniques for Sentiment Classification").
... a blog entry + comments on cultural and aesthetic differences in the use of emoticons, and a forum discussion on emoticons.
... the Quebecois word for "emoticon."
... a computer language that uses emoticons as syntax.

So Happy Birthday, Smiley! :-)

Via polyglot conspiracy.

[1] They say "common" emoticons, but I've seen, like, maybe six of these in actual use by real people in actual real emails.