Born on July 17
World Emoji Day
Say it with a tiny picture.
Next: July 17, 2027
Where it comes from
Emoji began in Japan. In 1999 the mobile operator NTT DOCOMO released a set of 176 little pictures for phones and pagers, drawn by Shigetaka Kurita on a grid of 12 by 12 pixels. World Emoji Day came much later.
How it's celebrated
People post their favourite emoji with #WorldEmojiDay, hold emoji parties, bake emoji cakes, or try answering every message in emoji only. Tech companies have used the day to preview new emoji, and in 2017 the Empire State Building was lit emoji yellow.
Did you know
The word comes from the Japanese e, 'picture', and moji, 'character'.
Read the full story of World Emoji Day
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