The History Of Emojis

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From expressing joy to conveying sadness or even humour, emojis have become an indispensable tool in modern-day conversations

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Initially, it was believed that emojis were first created by an unnamed designer at SoftBank in 1997, and most notable emojis were drawn up in 1999 by a Japanese artist

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However, Matt Sephton, game developer and blogger, recently researched emoji history and discovered a series of characters from 1988

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To unravel the history of emojis, Mr Sephton tested some retro Japanese devices that have drawing software

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He found 102 emojis displayed on Japanese PA-8500 devices, covering a wide variety of animals to symbols

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He was surprised to find a character in Sharp PI-4000 released three years earlier, in 1994

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The game developer later also discovered more emojis in NEC PI-ET1 released in 1990 and PA-8500 released in 1988

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In a blog post, Mr Sephton said he “couldn't quite believe” what he was seeing on the pixelated screens

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From a rabbit or mouse to zodiac signs, these emojis look very different from the emojis we are currently using, but they remain impressive

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This discovery shows that emojis have existed longer than many people think, providing new insights into the evolution of digital communication

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