Today marks the 25th birthday of quite possibly the most despised and overused symbols of the computer generation. According to CNN:

Twenty-five years ago, Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman says, he was the first to use three keystrokes — a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis — as a horizontal “smiley face” in a computer message. … “It has been fascinating to watch this phenomenon grow from a little message I tossed off in 10 minutes to something that has spread all around the world,” Fahlman was quoted as saying in a university statement. “I sometimes wonder how many millions of people have typed these characters, and how many have turned their heads to one side to view a smiley, in the 25 years since this all started.”

While hated by many true geeks, the emoticon helps portray emotions such as sarcasm that may be misinterpreted in emails and online dialogue. The simple symbol gives emotion to the dry black text on a white background that inhabit our inboxes on a daily basis. Three cheers for Mr. Fahlman.

Read the CNN Article.