In the second century AD, early Christians were forced to use the ichthys, or sign of the fish, to identify each other while avoiding persecution. Some would draw it on the dirt, others would engrave it on tombs; all would look forward to the day when secret symbols could be sent surreptitiously over the airwaves to an awaiting mobile operating system.
With the release of iOS 10.2 yesterday, Apple has now blessed the public with 104 new emojis. While some have obvious meanings – most root vegetables, being simply vegetables, could never be mistaken for anything else – others are part of a complex, hidden code used by teenagers across the world.
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