Rerun: The first ever emoji set, including the earliest incarnations of 🍷, ❤️, and 💩, was released in Japan on 1st November, 1997. But the only users could send and receive them were owners of a now-forgotten ‘SkyWalker’ handset made by J-Phone. ☹️
Emoji didn’t truly transform written communication in the West until some fourteen years later, when emoji ke ... Show More
Yesterday
Elizabeth of Russia's Bloodless Coup
Wearing an armoured breastplate, clasping a silver cross and seizing an Army spontoon, 31 year old Elizabeth Petrovna appeared at the HQ of the elite Preobrazhensky Regiment guards in St. Petersburg on 25th November, 1741 - intent on over-throwing Tzar Ivan VI (a baby), and seizi ... Show More
11m 23s
Jul 2023
Creating the first emoji
In 1999, Japanese software developer Shigetaka Kurita created the first emoji. The umbrella was one of 176 original images, featuring weather, transport signs, numbers and emotions.He was inspired after noticing the popularity of a pager, aimed at teenagers, that used a heart sym ... Show More
9m 12s
Jul 2025
Why You Owe Your Life to Bugs & The Fascinating Rise of the Emoji
While people may not point it out to you when you use the wrong word – they DO notice. This episode begins by setting the record straight on the right words to use that people commonly get wrong. For instance, when do you use take or bring, further or farther, ironic or coinciden ... Show More
50m 32s
Jun 2025
Rage Bait Or Marketing Genius?
The boys discuss the best emoticons, Nick Sparks' (of Black. White. fame) TikTok videos, Brendan Abernathy ("You'll be married in a year in the suburbs"), and where cringe comes from. Submit a question for a new Pen Palz: Advice segment! Over 100 Bonus Episodes: Sad Boyz Ni ... Show More
1h 16m