iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 23/08/2026

Reposted by Keith Houston

From the Shady Characters archive: what exactly are we supposed to call this mark: “#”? Read about the long history of the octothorpe (or maybe the pound sign), and its many names, at shadycharacters.co.u....

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Because Language (becauselangpod) @becauselanguage.com · 15/08/2026

Our next live show is happening 🔜 ! We're talking to @keithhouston.bsky.social about his new book "Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji". All patrons are invited, including free. If you're not a patron, click through and sign up! www.patreon.com/becauselangp...

patreon.com

Live show: Talking emoji with Keith Houston, 2026-08-15/16 | Because Language

Live show: Talking emoji with Keith Houston, 2026-08-15/16 by Because Language on Patreon. Join Because Language's community for exclusive content and updates.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 26/07/2026

Birds! Books! Bots! Bathrooms! (Okay, that last one is a stretch, but I'm going to say that a 13th century latrine still counts.) Miscellany № 112, which takes in all this, is now up at Shady Characters: shadycharacters.co.u.... Enjoy!

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 24/07/2026

The Japanese translation of “Empire of the Sum” was published last year by Hara Shobo, but my own copy arrived in the post only the other day. What a nice edition! Many thanks to Hara Shobo for sending me one. Take a look at www.harashobo... if you′re interested in ordering a copy! 1/2

The cover of the Japanese edition of "Empire of the Sum", showing the title and author's name in Japanese and English. The cover is illustrated with an image of four people writing with quills and counting with counting tokens.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 12/06/2026

When I was writing “Face with Tears of Joy”, I got very little response to my questions from Google, Apple, Meta and so on. Recently, though, I managed to speak to a real, live Apple emoji designer - Ollie Wagner, who helped design Apple′s very first set of emoji. shadycharacters.co.u... 1/2

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Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

I forgot to take a picture this year, so here's one from last time round. Don't forget to vote! #BikesAtPollingStations

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 27/04/2026

The calculator renaissance starts in Fort Worth, Texas! “Independent bookstores have been on the rise since the pandemic ... A surprising number of people come in looking for books on the history of the calculator, such as author Keith Houston’s ‘Empire of the Sum.′” (fortworthreport.org/...)

fortworthreport.org

Independent bookstores in Fort Worth begin writing new chapter as customers return

Retail trend shows growth as bookstores emphasize service, human interaction and a genre focus.

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 09/04/2026

Reposted by Keith Houston

I stumbled on Hurlingham's bookshop by Putney Bridge underground station while visiting London. What a treat! Stop by if you get the chance.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 27/03/2026

Were you ever put through a slide show of someone’s holiday snaps? Well, I visited Egypt in February and have been telling anyone who will listen how fascinating a trip it was. Lacking a Kodak slide projector, I’ve written a few words about our experiences: staging.shadycharact...

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 04/02/2026

Reposted by Keith Houston

On @99pi.org again! This time round I spoke to Will Aspinall about the storied em dash (‘—′, that is, rather than ‘–′ or ‘-′, but you knew that). Listen at 99percentinvisible.o..., or read my own earlier piece on AI and the em dash at shadycharacters.co.u....

99percentinvisible.org

The Em Dash - 99% Invisible

Last summer, Bryan Vance found himself in an argument with a stranger on Reddit. Vance, a Portland-based journalist who runs Stumptown Savings, a newsletter covering local grocery deals, had been accused of using ChatGPT to write his content. The evidence? His use of em dashes. “A Reddit user accused me of using AI, pointing to

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 23/12/2025

Day 10, and it's the final day of the 2025 Shady Characters advent calendar. Thank you for sticking with me! And on the subject of gratitude, here's my final post for the year, on PERSON WITH FOLDED HANDS (🙏): shadycharacters.co.u.... Check out shadycharacters.co.u... for all previous entries!

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 21/12/2025

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Day 9! Home stretch, and you would be forgiven for being a little tired of the Christmas rush by now. A good time, then, to examine FACE WITH BAGS UNDER EYES (🫩): shadycharacters.co.u.... Check out shadycharacters.co.u... to see previous entries, including '😂', '👍', '✨' and '🕴️'!

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 15/12/2025

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Day 6 of the Shady Characters advent calendar! Time is flying. Today's entry looks at RAINBOW FLAG (🏳️‍🌈) - an emoji so potent it once left crashed iPhones in its wake: shadycharacters.co.u... Check out shadycharacters.co.u... to see previous entries, including '😂', '♨️', '🍔', '👍' and ''✨!

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 13/12/2025

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It's day 5 of the ✨Shady Characters✨ advent calendar! And what better way to mark the occasion than to take a look at the SPARKLES emoji's controversial new job? Read more at shadycharacters.co.u.... Check out shadycharacters.co.u... to see previous entries, including '😂', '♨️', '🍔' and '👍'!

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 09/12/2025

Reposted by Keith Houston

Day 3 of the Shady Characters advent calendar! An unassuming emoji today, in the form of the HAMBURGER (🍔), but one which can teach us a surprising amount about how the emoji sausage is made, so to speak: shadycharacters.co.u.... If you missed day 1 or day 2, check out shadycharacters.co.u...!

koenfucius @koenfucius.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Reposted by Keith Houston

Ten years ago, the OED’s word of the year was “😂”. If this is a word, is ‘emoji’ a language? @keithhouston.bsky.social’s interesting exploration of the question takes us along a literary translation (Emoji Dick), the challenge of universality and more: buff.ly/D00WGXr

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Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

If you're a cyclist in West Lothian, do yourself a favour and lay your hands on Spokes' excellent cycling map: www.spokes.org.uk/2025/08/spok.... There's a new edition out soon, so the current one is going for a song.

spokes.org.uk

Spokes West Lothian map – offer! « Spokes

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Jodi Ettenberg @legalnomads.com · 13/08/2025

CAE 53's great reads include: - @royinori.bsky.social on worm hunters in S. Ontario - @keithhouston.bsky.social on emoji language - @clearwing3.bsky.social on the history of @theonion.com - @birdhistory.bsky.social on feather beds of the 1800s & more! jodiettenberg.substack.com/p/fifty-three

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 31/07/2025

“Empire of the Sum” in paperback is my third book this year! 🤯 Read more about it here: shadycharacters.co.uk/books/empire...

Knowable Magazine @knowablemag.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

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Do emoji constitute a language? If so, what are its rules of grammar? @keithhouston.bsky.social dives into the linguistics of the pictograms that decorate our digital conversations in a new book, excerpted at @longreads.com longreads.com/2025/07/01/e...

longreads.com

The Emoji Tongue - Longreads

If 😂 was a word, would that make emoji a language?

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99% Invisible @99pi.org · 14/06/2025

Keeping track of numbers has always been part of what makes us human. So at some point along the way, we created a tool to help us keep count, and then we gave that tool a name. We called it: a calculator. 99pi's Lasha Madan has the story 99percentinvisible.org/episode/empi...

99percentinvisible.org

Empire of the Sum - 99% Invisible

Whether or not you’re a fan of math, we’ve always had a need to count things. Maybe it’s to figure out the maximum weight an airplane can safely hold, or the appropriate amount to tip after a meal,…

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Lastly, some credit where it is due: Keith Broni at the mighty emojipedia.org reviewed the site, and Zach Leat’s 11ty (www.11ty.dev) made it a pleasure to build. Thank you both! #emojipedia #11ty 4/4

Reposted by Keith Houston

If you want to learn even more about emoji, you can pre-order my book, “Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji” (shadycharacters.co.u...), which will be published next month. Not long now at all! 3/4

The cover of "Face with Tears of Joy" (W. W. Norton, 2025), showing the evolution of the FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY from an emoticon to a shiny, modern 3D-rendered version.

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emoji.shadycharacters.co.uk

I really enjoyed making the site. Some programming, some thinking about emoji, some website design; I’m happy with how it came together! If you agree, please share emoji.shadycharacter... here or elsewhere. You can also reply here with your thoughts or leave a comment at shadycharacters.co.u.... 2/4

The Periodic Table of Emoji, presented by Shady Characters

The Periodic Table of Emoji

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 01/06/2025

I have made a thing! Visit emoji.shadycharacter... to see the Shady Characters Periodic Table of Emoji and read about how it came together. There’s a lot of detail in there, although you can read shadycharacters.co.u... to get a shorter intro. 1/4

A table showing emoji arranged in rows according to their category, and with the emoji in each row sorted from most positive on the left to most negative on the right.

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Why does the percent sign (%) look the way it does? It’s probably not why you think. Learn more in this post from the Shady Characters archive: shadycharacters.co.u... (Public domain image from archive.org/stream/r....)

An Italian manuscript from 1425 using the abbreviation "pco" for "per cento".

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 18/05/2025

From the Shady Characters archive: scribbled or scrawled, how do we write ampersands, and is there room for a new ampersand design? Designer Rebecca Kirch dives into the unregulated world of the handwritten "&". shadycharacters.co.u.... (Image courtesy of Rebecca Kirch.)

A series of handwritten ampersands and plus signs, overwritten on top of one another.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 08/05/2025

Read more at shadycharacters.co.u..., listen to the episode at 99percentinvisible.o..., and follow 99PI at @99pi.org. 2/2

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 08/05/2025

Reposted by Keith Houston

If you've enjoyed any of my books, it's a fair bet you'd enjoy “99% Invisible” too. It's a smart and wide-ranging podcast with a focus on design, and this week it looks at emoji in the courts. I tag along to talk to host Roman Mars about the ‘💩’! 1/2

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 18/04/2025

Reposted by Keith Houston

Anyway! Pre-orders are very welcome (the paperback will be published on the 29th of April), and you can find all the details at shadycharacters.co.u.... 3/3

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 18/04/2025

Reposted by Keith Houston

Either way, Sarah Bibel's new cover looks amazing (www.sarahbibel.com/), and Judith Abbate's elegant, full-colour interior design is reproduced just as faithfully in this new edition. I find myself wanting to re-read one of my own books just for the physical experience of it. 2/3

sarahbibel.com

cover designs - Sarah Bibel's Portfolio

cover designs on Sarah Bibel's Portfolio

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 18/04/2025

A parcel arrived today from W. W. Norton: a box full of paperbacks of “The Book”! This is the first time I've seen the paperback itself, rather than only PDFs, and honestly, it looks great. Maybe even better than the hardback? (But that would be tantamount to picking a favourite child.) 1/3

The paperback edition of the book, featuring a cream band on a green background.

A photograph of a page spread from "The Book", showing a full-colour illustration of a medieval manuscript that depicts a monk drinking from a barrel of wine.

A box full of paperback editions of "The Book", featuring a cream band on a green background.

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

They got 2 or 3 of mine too. Frustrating.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 09/02/2025

"Oppenheimer" got me thinking about nuclear power, as I'm sure it did many of you too. Appropriately enough, then, I recently spoke to Alan Lowe of the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN, for an episode of the museum's AMSEcast podcast: shadycharacters.co.u....

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 31/01/2025

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Why did I start Shady Characters? How does the blog work? What's the future for Shady Characters? These and other questions answered in today's post! shadycharacters.co.u... #blogquestionschallenge

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 17/01/2025

A belated happy new year to all Shady Characters reader! I hope 2025 is treating you as well as it can. Here to ease the pain are a few links on the usual subjects of punctuation, typography and emoji: shadycharacters.co.u.... Enjoy!

A sculpture of the peace symbol in two halves, overlooking a beach in Adelaide, Australia.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 16/12/2024

It's the 2024 Shady Characters gift guide! Which calculator should you buy your loved ones, and why is the £360 Casio S100X? Answers here: shadycharacters.co.uk/2024/12/2024...

The cover of "Empire of the Sum" by Keith Houston.

Slide rule owned by Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. (CC0 image courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum.)

A Braun ET-66 calculator. (CC BY-SA 2.0 image courtesy of Pinot Dita at Wikimedia Commons.)

A 25th anniversary edition of the HP-12c calculator. (CC BY 2.0 image courtesy of “striegel” on Flickr.)

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 29/11/2024

It's lovely to see this exhibition by Cate Gillon, an old friend of mine, make the local paper where we grew up together. And it's a pleasant surprise for her picture of me to be featured in the article (even if I'm not the headline image 😅)! www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/fife...

thecourier.co.uk

Global bike giant boss Scott Maguire and 5 other Levenmouth former pupils who have gone far

Scott Maguire, CEO of Specialized, features in an exhibition by Kennoway photographer Cate Gillon of distinguished Levenmouth alumni.

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 10/11/2024

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Bombs, books and generative AI! A new post at Shady Characters, and one that takes a look at how this AI malarkey intersects with a rather older information technology: shadycharacters.co.uk/2024/11/bomb....

A graph of the carbon-14 "bomb pulse" caused by atmospheric nuclear testing.

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 24/09/2024

Reposted by Keith Houston

Get your annual punctuation journey started today by diving into the Contents (shadycharacters.co.uk/contents/), and let us know: what's your favourite mark of punctuation?

shadycharacters.co.uk

Contents – Shady Characters

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 24/09/2024

Reposted by Keith Houston

It's national punctuation day! Only, uh, the NPD website seems to have gone dark: www.nationalpunctuationday.com. But we at Shady Characters do not yield to unpaid domain fees, and punctuation is to be celebrated every day of the year!

Interrobang image courtesy of Penny Speckter.

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 10/03/2024

Reposted by Keith Houston

I guested on Alan Alda' Clear + Vivid podcast recently, on the subjects of punctuation and counting: clear-vivid-with-alan-alda.simplecast.com/episodes/kei.... What a treat, and what an honour! Have a listen and let me know what you think.

clear-vivid-with-alan-alda.simplecast.com