Send Someone A Smile Today!

On this day (September 19) in 1982, Scott Fahlman posted the very first “emoticon” to a computer-science department bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University.

According to Wired.com, the message went like this:

19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman
From: Scott E Fahlman

I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers:

Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use:

And, according to Mark Stibich, Ph.D. at About.com, not only does smiling make us attractive, boost our immune systems, lower our blood pressure, and make us appear younger and successful, smiling also changes our moods, relieves stress, releases serotonin, and helps us stay positive.

So, whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, there’s no better day than today to send someone a smiling emoticon.

Image: www.xoospace.com