iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 27/09/2026

& then...? From the Shady Characters archive, delve into the history of the ampersand, or “and” sign, which goes all the way back to ancient Rome. Start at shadycharacters.co.u... to understand the hows & whys of this most elegant mark.

A collection of roman and italic typographic ampersands.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 18/09/2026

As an Edinburgh graduate, this seems Very Bad

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 07/09/2026

The unfortunate truth is that PLR is pennies per loan. Only exceptionally successful writers will make enough money for PLR to move the needle on their finances - which great for them, of course! I wouldn't begrudge them it.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 06/09/2026

From the Shady Characters archive comes the most iconic of all shady characters: the mighty, the maligned, the magnificent interrobang. Go to shadycharacters.co.u... to get the full story. (Image courtesy of Penny Speckter.)

Three of the original interrobang designs, each one mixing an exclamation mark and question mark to varying effect.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 05/09/2026

Hello! I’m Keith. I’m a writer and software engineer in Scotland. I love the stop-start just after Norman Blake first sings “Was going nowhere” in Teenage Fanclub’s “Neil Jung”. A song, an album (Grand Prix) of absolute joy. Would you like to introduce yourself with a small song moment you like?

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

Shady Characters × Because Language! I joined Daniel Midgley and Ben Ainslie recently to shoot the 💩 about emoji – there’s a taster at bsky.app/profile/bec... to see if it’s up your street, or you can dive into the full episode at shadycharacters.co.u.... Thanks to Daniel and Ben for having me on!

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 03/09/2026

I had a lot of fun recording this one. Thanks to @becauselanguage.com for having me on!

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Because Language (becauselangpod) @becauselanguage.com · 03/09/2026

Emoji in medical notes? Yep, they're going all kinds of places they never have before. New live episode with Keith Houston, author of "Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji". Watch or listen to the whole thing: becauselanguage.com/145-face-wit... @shadycharacters.co.uk @wwnorton.com

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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

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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....

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Glenn Fleishman @glennf.com · 04/08/2026

The book includes articles that feature quotes from interviews with @craigmod.com, @wynkenhimself.bsky.social, the late James Mosley, Matthew Carter, @aresluna.org, @ftrain.bsky.social, @eod.com, @anildash.com, Steve Matteson, @shadycharacters.co.uk, @amyredmond.bsky.social, Erik Spiekermann…

Glenn at a letterpress photographed down low looking up past ink rollers (©Jeff Carlson)

Drawing of a man in a nightshirt, spittle leaving his mouth, in a silhouetted oval, apparently shouting. The words DER POX! are to his left (©Lucy Bellwood)

Woman standing in wood-type production shop holding a piece of metal with example of template, wood blank, and tools around her (Hamilton Wood Type Printing Museum, photo by author)

Cover preview showing hand with composing stick full of type entering from left against blue background with Not To Put Fine a Point on It in bold italic large type. Left, print book cover preview; right, preview on an iPad.

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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 · 14/08/2026

I'd add: and tell your friends about that writer, too

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Type history meets weird words! My chat with type historian @glennf.com Glenn Fleishman covers printing history, comics, and his favorite printing word from the 1800s: "flong." :) Check it out on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

podcasts.apple.com

How comics are made, with Glenn Fleishman

Podcast Episode · Grammar Girl · August 6 · 27m

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Gracie Jane aka Quuxum @drquuxum.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I'm going to make the brash (I say BRASH!) assumption that everyone and their mother has already told @shadycharacters.co.uk about Tom Scott's latest video, where he gets a little too excited about ampersands youtu.be/8IsbKH-EsAY?...

youtu.be

I get excited about &.

YouTube video by Tom Scott

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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 · 17/07/2026

It's World Emoji Day! 🍾🎉 I was wondering what to post about today when I came across this incredible post on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/peo.... 10/10, no notes, as they say. The poop emoji's time has come. 1/2

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Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele @drdragases.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I am once again begging Hollywood to stop using the Greek alphabet for an Ancient World movie, if they can't afford to even throw a couple of quid at anyone with an inkling of the language. Unless they really think audiences are dying to see THS THDPSSSSPS

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 11/07/2026

So, I’m walking down to the canal today with my youngest so he can ride his bike along the tow path, and what do I see but two clumps of reeds which have floated into the canal basin from somewhere farther along the canal. And I think to myself: “This is how papyrus arrived in Egypt!” 1/3

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 28/06/2026

Take a trip to the south of France at the height of summer courtesy of the Shady Characters archive: shadycharacters.co.u....

A view from the entrance to Narbo Martius, a museum in Narbonne, France, on a sunny day with a blue sky.

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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

😁

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 27/06/2026

I KNEW it was a good title shadycharacters.co.uk/books/empire...

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 26/06/2026

Apropos of the Tartan Army's friendly invasion of Boston for the World Cup ⚽🏆, consider this: do we need a traffic cone emoji? Andrew Dobbie seems to think so, and has started a petition to right this wrong: www.change.org/p/the.... 1/4

change.org

Sign the Petition

The World needs a Traffic Cone Emoji to celebrate Boston & Glasgow Twinning

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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 @shadycharacters.co.uk · 01/06/2026

“The paragraph indent killed the pilcrow”

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 31/05/2026

Inventing a new punctuation mark turns out to be very hard. Mostly, they fade away, never to be seen again - but the “quasiquote” does not deserve that fate. Read more about this ingenious but precarious mark at the Shady Characters archive: shadycharacters.co.u... (Image courtesy of Ned Brooks.)

A description of the quasiquote from the 1944 Fancyclopedia, written by Jack Speer.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 15/05/2026

Miscellany № 111, now up! Catch up with goings-on in the world of punctuation, starring ‘<’, ‘>’, ‘‽’, ‘.’, ‘,’ and ‘¶’, at shadycharacters.co.u.... .

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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.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 26/04/2026

Miscellany № 110, now up! It's been a while since I've had a chance to do one of these, but this should be the first of many. Read more at shadycharacters.co.u...!

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 17/04/2026

The new version of the Shady Characters blog is now up! It's been a long time coming, but I'm finally happy (and by "finally" I mean "after four long years") with how it looks and works. A few details at shadycharacters.co.u....

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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.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 30/03/2026

A reminder: the new version of Shady Characters will be launching soon! Comments, email notifications and WordPress integrations will all be changing, so take a look at shadycharacters.co.u... if you'd like to learn more.

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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...

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 06/03/2026

I had fun talking to Ian Chillag, Mike Danforth and Schuyler Swenson for an episode of NPR′s “How To Do Everything” in which they tried to answer a question from a listener called Autumn′s Hope. No, that isn′t a typo, and yes, the apostrophe is the key! Have a listen here: www.npr.org/2026/03/...

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 20/02/2026

I've been working on a non-WordPress version of the Shady Characters blog for a while now, and I'd love to get your feedback on it. There's a preview at staging.shadycharact...; if you find anything unexpected, please leave a comment here or at shadycharacters.co.u.... Thanks!

staging.shadycharacters.co.uk

Shady Characters

The secret life of punctuation

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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

When you're a tech historian, you wonder about a lot of interesting things, and @glennf.com wondered about the history of "shouty caps." And of course, he found a surprising answer! This week, we talk about that and more. Check it out: APPLE: bit.ly/4aWLqnA SPOTIFY: bit.ly/4tL9v8n

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Cobab @cobabb.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

waoh waoh wah une Monotype entièrement controlée par ordi (y c. la transmission entre les deux machines, originellement par carte perforée)

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 08/02/2026

3D printing is cool. 3D printing in the nineteenth century? Even better. Computerised 3D printing with 19th-century hardware? 😎 Read about two different approaches to modernising the Monotype system in the Shady Characters archive: shadycharacters.co.u... and shadycharacters.co.u....

Three views of a computerised Monotype typecasting machine, showing pneumatic tubes and electronic components connected to cast iron machinery.

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 16/01/2026

Some new year's resolutions for me and for Shady Characters, up now at the blog: shadycharacters.co.u....

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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!

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 22/12/2025

🎄 If, like me, you still need to find a few more Christmas gifts to give, may I humbly propose the ebook and audio editions of my books? They're perfect as last-minute gifts! Follow the thread for links.

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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 '🕴️'!

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 19/12/2025

Day 8 of the Shady Characters advent calendar! Some lucky kids might expect Santa to bring them a water pistol (🔫), but the corresponding emoji is anything but playful: shadycharacters.co.u.... Check out shadycharacters.co.u... to see previous entries, including '🍔', '✨', '🏳️‍🌈' and '🕴️'!

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Keith Houston @shadycharacters.co.uk · 17/12/2025

On day 7 of the Shady Characters advent calendar, why, precisely, do we have an emoji called PERSON IN SUIT LEVITATING (🕴️)? The story is here: shadycharacters.co.u... Check out shadycharacters.co.u... to see previous entries, including '😂', '♨️', '🍔', '👍', '✨' and '🏳️‍🌈'!

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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 ''✨!

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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 '👍'!

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