People all over the world speak more languages than most people could imagine. Despite this, there is one language in particular that we call all understand: and that is the language of emojis! Whether I’m talking to my close family or my friends, emojis give us a way to communicate in a way that words can’t explain. They allow us to show our emotions through pictures, and capture our expressions straight through a screen.

Have you ever noticed that on Apple devices, the calendar emoji has the date July 17th marked on it? 📅

While the reason why this specific detail is in this emoji is unknown, it is the reason why July 17 is officially World Emoji Day. And with good reason, too. Emojis are some of the best ways to text, so it only makes sense that there’s a day to celebrate them.

Related Post: My Favorite Emojis and How I Use Them

In order to celebrate this fun, special day, I will be sharing 5 fun facts about the history of emojis that you probably never knew until now. I hope you enjoy them!

1. “Emoji” actually means “picture character” (moji) in Japanese.

2. 92% of the population uses emojis everyday.

3. The first ever emoticon was actually posted in a paper by The New York Times in 1862 in a mistranslated copy of a speech by President Abraham Lincoln.

4. There are a total of over 3,000 emojis.

5. Emojis were first created by a Japanese artist in 1999, though it is uncertain who the true creator of emojis actually was (name, age, gender, etc.)

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I hope you all enjoyed learning a few new things about the “picture characters” that we all know and love. Let me know in the comments if any of these fun facts surprised you. Also, what are your top 3 favorite emojis? I’d have to go with the sparkles ✨, Christian cross ✝️, and sparkling heart 💖 emojis.

What can I say? They’re easy classics.

Have a beautiful and blessed day, everybody! See you next time! ♡