It’s World Emoji Day on Saturday, a day on which we celebrate all the non-verbal things we say in our WhatsApps, text messages and across many social media platforms.
This year alone, 217 new emojis have been approved for launch, including a burning heart and face in the clouds, creating even more ways to say what you mean when words fail, time constraints or you just can’t be bothered to chat.
According to CNBC, World Emoji Day was created in 2014 by Jeremy Burge, the London creator of the website Emojipedia. Since 2017, Apple has announced new emoji developments on this day and global brands and famous names have also hopped on board. On July 17, 2015, Pepsi launched PepsiMoji, Hollywood studio Sony announced casting news for The Emoji Movie on this day in 2016, and ever one to hitch her wagon to a marketing opportunity, Kim Kardashian launched her own Kimoji fragrance line on July 17, 2018.
While the hidden meaning of many emojis have become well known, and a recent online battle between Millennials and Gen Z revealed that emojis used showed your age – the crying laughing emoji is Millennial, while the skull is Gen Z’s preferred way to say ‘lol’ – there are some hidden details you might have missed.
From what’s written on the pages of the book emoji to exactly where the metro train is headed, we bet you can’t make it to the end of the list without scrolling through your iPhone to check on these details …
1. The date on the calendar
Frequent users of the more business-themed emojis might have noticed that the date on the calendar icon is July 17 – World Emoji Day. But which came first, the emoji or the celebratory day?
In this instance, the emoji came first, with July 17 chosen because it is the date that Apple’s iCal premiered at technology trade show Macworld back in 2002.
2. The snail and the lizard face the other way
Of the 116 animal emojis (and, yes, we are including the unicorn), they all face to the front or left, apart from two – the snail and the lizard.
The snail emoji was introduced in 2010 and remained the standalone right-facing animal, until the lizard arrived in 2016 to keep it company in its right-facing solidarity. Although the internet has some theories as to why this is, no one really knows.
3. You can create couples with different colour skin tones
Earlier this year, the couples emojis got more inclusive. Apple introduced the ability to choose which skin tones best represented users when posting a couple emoji.
Simply press on the couple, then select the tones that best represent you and your partner.
4. There is real text on the book emoji
You might need to find yourself a powerful magnifying glass to see it, but there is actual writing on the book emoji. The same text is on the clipboard, and paper and pencil emojis.
“Here’s to the crazy ones,” it says. “The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes …”
The text is a shortened version of the monologue from Apple’s 1997–2002 Crazy Ones/Think Different ad campaign, created by creative marketer Rob Siltanen, which ends: “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
5. The deaf emoji signs a real word
The emoji symbolising deaf people, in which the person gestures with their index finger between the ear and mouth, is the sign used to signify deafness in American Sign Language and many other global sign languages.
6. Emojis within emojis
In what can only be considered the Inception of emojis, there are two which feature popular icons within them. The first is the fries in the food section, which features the smiley face emoji on the front of the red packet.
The second is the post house in the buildings section, which features a postal horn on the front to mark it as a post office. The postal horn itself is found in the objects section.
7. The pager emoji has a number
Much to the internet’s amusement, the pager emoji continues to feature despite the popularity of the once cutting-edge communication technology falling out of favour since the early 2000s.
The number on the pager reads: 555-3215. Triple 5 is commonly used in films and adverts as a fictitious area code, but no one seems to know what the “3215” signifies.
8. The metro emoji is en route to Apple’s original HQ
In the transport section, the metro train has IL2 written on the front where a train would usually feature its destination. Apple fans believe IL2 is a reference to Infinite Loop, the name of Apple’s original headquarters in Cupertino, California, which comprised six buildings.
Steve Jobs’s office was in IL1, and Apple employee Chris Espinosa told Wired: “Building 1 was occupied first by the exec staff and software group. Building 2 was all the Mac web.”
9. The credit card emoji has a signature
Although you might expect the signature on the gold credit card to be that of Steve Jobs or another original Apple founder, the name actually reads John Appleseed.
The original John Appleseed was a man named John Chapman, an American pioneer nurseryman who, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, introduced apple trees to large parts of the American east coast.
In Apple Inc lore, John Appleseed is the pseudonym of former Apple chief executive Mike Markkula, who used the name as his alias while publishing software for the Apple II.
10. The most used emoji on Twitter is …
… the crying laughing emoji. Twitter emoji tracker emojitracker.com scans the social media platform in real time, and shows that the tears of joy or crying laughing emoji is consistently the top choice.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
A Dog's Journey
Directed by: Gail Mancuso
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott
3 out of 5 stars
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
