iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Keith Houston

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 04/10/2026

Miscellany № 113, now up! Featuring asterisks, every Unicode character, and the merest smattering of AI. Read at shadycharacters.co.u....

011

Reposted by Keith Houston

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 30/08/2026

A quick question, now that the updated version of shadycharacters.co.uk has been live for a little while: have you noticed the difference? Any positives or negatives versus the old site? Please let me know here or at shadycharacters.co.u...!

shadycharacters.co.uk

Shady Characters

The secret life of punctuation

001

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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....

112

Reposted by Keith Houston

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.

042

Reposted by Keith Houston

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!

021

Reposted by Keith Houston

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.

121

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

132

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

070

Reposted by Keith Houston

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.

012

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

This sounds very cool! I look forward to it.

020

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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

041

Reposted by Keith Houston

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...

011

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

It's nice! Although it does lose the paragraph indents which make it easier for the eye to find its way around dense pages of text.

000

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Hi Adriel - interesting! I've pilcrows used as separators before, but never explicitly as paragraph terminators.

100

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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

032

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

I lived in that area about 12-13 years ago, and connectivity was terrible. Glad to hear it has improved!

140

Reposted by Keith Houston

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!

011

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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 '🕴️'!

012

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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 ''✨!

001

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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 '👍'!

012

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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...!

011

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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

042

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

I imagined as much. My commiserations. Birmingham seems to be stuck in a rut it can't get out of.

010

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Is Birmingham still as bad, then? I'm impressed with how Edinburgh has come on, although the very centre of town is still a bit underwhelming.

120

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

030

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

053

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Hi there - there are no plans so far, but if a Spanish language publisher was to come along I'm sure my agent would be able to make it happen.

010

Reposted by Keith Houston

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...

011

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

I also appreciate that PLATO and Coconet are subjects near to your heart; I have similar interests where I get frustrated if a book or other work omits something that I think is important. But that doesn't make those omissions a "hole" in the story - just an alternative choice.

000

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

If there are future editions where I can revise and expand the book, great. If not, I'm still happy with the history that I put together. To my knowledge, PLATO was not a significant influence on emoji history, and Matt Sephton's work puts Japan's emoji earlier than Coconet.

100

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Honestly, there is no script. I wrote the best history of emoji I could in the space I had available. I also needed to cover current usage and potential future developments. I appreciate there are other aspects of emoji history that you're interested in, but the line had to be drawn somewhere.

100

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

One more thing, to respond to your original post: the book doesn't say Japan invented emoji. It originated the name and their modern incarnation (c. mid 1980s, if not before), but the book is clear that similar phenomena existed beforehand, even if none of them were as popular or as influential.

000

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

On the second sentiment, I would agree with you if i thought that that was what I had done; as it is, I'm happy that I collected a number of obscure historical threads together in a way which I don't think has been done before.

000

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

I agree with the first sentiment. Even so, I *did* continue to revise the historical section right up to my deadline. Matt Sephton's discoveries were antedating Japan's history of electronic emoji even as I was writing.

200

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

(So much for "lastly"!) There just wasn't room to write about every influence on emoji, so I had to focus on those which other emoji experts have identified as being most relevant. And even then, I didn't have enough pages to devote as much attention to them all as I would have liked.

000

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Lastly, I think I've seen you mention Coconet before, but it was something that came up during my research at all. As such, again, I'm not sure it is broadly considered to have been an influence on the development of emoji.

100

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

I'm also unsure how widespread its influence was. Many systems could create facelike symbols, but not all of them were influential enough to be considered emoji predecessors.

100

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Hi Brian - I'm aware of PLATO (I'd love to write about it one day), and I'm aware of the symbols it was possible to create with it, but I don't think they're in a direct line of descent to emoji. (@emojipedia.org might be able to add more detail.)

100

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Hi Bryan - sorry to hear it! What's missing?

000

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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?

172

Reposted by Keith Houston

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,…

1174

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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

012

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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.

103

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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

emoji.shadycharacters.co.uk

The Periodic Table of Emoji, presented by Shady Characters

The Periodic Table of Emoji

102

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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.

115

Reposted by Keith Houston

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

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".

023

Reposted by Keith Houston

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.

021

Keith Houston @keithhouston.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

I saw this! A little concerning.

010