On Tuesday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert unveiled a new emoji approved by the Unicode Consortium, the global emoji gatekeepers. This one, he said happily, they are calling the "Colbert emoji," with an arched eyebrow and straight smile conveying "skepticism, accompanied by the concepts of disapproval and (mild) surprise." Colbert did a pretty convincing recreation of the emoji with his own face, if he did say so himself: "It's an uncanny resemblance. That's me when I have jaundice."
The person who submitted the emoji for approval had to jump through a lot of hoops, though. "It's such a Byzantine process, we might not see my emoji... until 2017," Colbert said, to boos from the audience. "It's fine. I'm sure we won't need an emoji that means skepticism and disappointment during this election year." But then he cheered up. "My own emoji!" he said. "You can't buy this kind of publicity, and for once, I didn't." He also demonstrated some other facial expressions the Unicode Consortium was free to use. They're all pretty good, but the one that will haunt your nightmares is "elf exposing himself in the park." Get a sneak preview of your scary future emojis below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Can US tourism survive Trump's policies?Today's Big Question The tourist economy is 'heading in the wrong direction'
-
September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosisthe week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
-
'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
