My Phone (Waiting for an Update)
My Texts, Ready for the Nine New Emoji
The new emoji include a pickle, a meteor, a lighthouse and an eraser. They aren't on phones yet, but my texts are written.
The new version of Unicode, the standard behind every emoji, adds nine: a pickle, a lighthouse, a meteor, an eraser, a monarch butterfly, a net, a cracking face, and thumbs pointing left and right. They aren’t on our phones yet. My texts are ready.
My Texts
To my chef: [pickle] [cracking face]
Translation: I found a pickle in my burger again.
To the ships at sea: [lighthouse] [right thumb] [me]
Translation: This way to the most important person on the coast.
To my neighbor: [meteor] [left thumb]
Translation: A meteor went that way, and I saw it first.
To my mistakes: [eraser]
Translation: There aren’t any. That’s why the eraser looks so new.
To a butterfly: [net] [monarch butterfly] [right thumb]
Translation: I’m not here to catch you. I just want a photo. Please hold still.
The Wait
New emoji take months to arrive on phones, because every company has to draw its own pictures first. I’ve asked for mine early. The answer was no.
So for now, I’m sending my texts the old way, with the names in brackets. My chef wrote back, “Why are you texting me the word pickle?” I’ll explain next year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides on new emoji?
The Unicode Consortium, which looks after the codes behind the world's letters and emoji. I've sent them 40 ideas. All of them are my face.
Is the new pickle different from the cucumber?
Yes, very. The pickle has been through a lot more.