Those little smilies that conquered the world and are used by pretty much everyone communicating online today? They're Japanese and date back to 1999, in case you didn't know – the English word emoji is a transcription of the Japanese 絵文字, and was even chosen as Word of the Year by the Oxford English Dictionary last year (great trivia for your next pub quiz or Trivial Pursuit).
Emoji were originally created by NTT Docomo's iMode team, with Shigetaka Kurita often heralded as the father of emoji. The objective was to be able to convey emotions with limited characters on smartphones and – let's just say – it worked. High time that this bastion of communication greatness was properly enshrined, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has now done just that.
According to the MoMA folks, emoji have 'a very strong design, and have changed the way people communicate with each other'. A selection of 176 of the first emoji, including the ubiquitous smiley and crying face, have been added to the collection. They'll be on display (both in print and on a monitor) from December 10, so make sure to stop by if you're in the area. For tips on visiting MoMA in New York, see here.