Discovering the origin of the poop emoji

Remember when, back in ancient-Egypt civilizations, hieroglyphics were used as a written form of communication? Today, you could easily say that emojis are the modern-day hieroglyphics. If I used between four to six emojis, instead of words, the receiver would have a very good idea of what I am trying to say.

For example, 🙋🏻‍♀️🍷🍼🙏🏼 (I would like a bottle of wine, please). Or, 😷😖🤢 🔜 💩 (I don’t feel well and may have the runs). 

While most emojis are relatively straightforward, as to what they are and mean, there seems to be a lot of speculation surrounding the poop emoji. Is it actually poop? Or is it a chocolate soft-serve ice-cream swirl? Based on my research, it would seem that the poop emoji is, in fact, poop.

Emoji use was first implemented in 1997, on Japanese cellphones. It was not until 2010 that emoji use began to pick up some traction, as many different operating systems started to have them available to users. It was also the first time a 💩 emoji, as we know it, was seen. Prior to 2010, it looked like a brown pile of mush, with flies buzzing around it. Definitely reminiscent of what you would see on a farm, with flies buzzing around 🐴 💩. 

The fly-buzzing version (on the 💩 emoji) had some mixed reviews. In Japan, it was popular, but apparently, at Google, some thought it to look offensive (if used in an email). So, in 2010, when Unicode was introduced—an updated version of emojis—the poop emoji was redesigned to look more “friendly.” The flies were removed, the brown pile changed to more of a less-obvious swirl, and a smiley face was added. Some will say that this improved version of the emoji bears a resemblance to a Japanese cartoon character called Dr. Slump. I suppose it is possible that the designers of the new 💩 emoji sought some inspection from this funky retro cartoon, as Dr. Slump looks like a pink-poo swirl, with a smiley face.  

Aside from the design, it also seems that the Emoji Dictionary registers the poop emoji as poop. When you start to type words in a text message, emojis will pop 🆙that relate to the words you are 💬. When you enter the word poo, 💩 comes up as the related emoji. When you type ice cream, two emojis show 🆙, 🍨 or 🍦. You can tell from the construction of the swirl on the 🍦 cone, that it is a different swirl than that which is the 💩 emoji. 
So, based on this writer’s findings, there is evidence to support the fact that the 💩 emoji is 💩. But, the great thing about emojis is that they can be used in any context and have multiple meanings. So by all means, use 💩 as chocolate ice cream … or a happy face … or anything else you find that comes to mind. Not even the ancient Egyptians had hieroglyphics down to a perfect 🧬 🧫 🧪 (science). See … to some, those emojis would represent science; to others, they would be colourful “randomness.” The emoji language is whatever you want it to be. 🍻 ✌️ 😊

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