The 17 Hidden Emoji Secrets You Never Noticed

There’s no denying it, Emojis are taking over the world. Having already conquered mobile, Twitter’s move to make the tiny Apple pictographs compatible with desktop means there’ll be no escaping them.

The obsession with Emojis is already spiraling, with Tumblrs dedicated to ‘Emojinal art’, designer Emoji shoes selling for £200 and celebrities adorning themselves with Emoji tattoos.

You can even Emojify Wall Street Journal headlines – the possibilities are endless. But what most Emoji-lovers don’t know, is that Apple Mac users can blow them up to larger image sizes on their desktops.

Better yet, upon blowing them up, a few surprises and hidden secrets can be spotted lurking throughout those tiny little graphics….

1. The Jack Kerouac-style ‘Here’s to the crazy ones’ Apple statement features heavily.

Take a closer look at the letter Emoji and the newspaper Emoji (to name just two of several). Can you spot the ‘Here’s To The Crazy Ones’ piece?

The text was created for Apple’s ‘Think Different’ campaign and is often misattributed to Jack Kerouac’s similar extract from ‘On The Road’.

It reads as follows:
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

2.  GAME are getting free promo

The logo for high street videogame shop GAME appears on the controller Emoji, but very faintly.

3. July 17th is actually a significant date

Appearing on both the calendar Emoji and the tear-off calendar Emoji, July 17th is actually the date iCal for Mac was first announced in 2002 – another inside nod.

4.  There are 12 gallons of gas on the gas pump Emoji

5. Secret Emojis within Emojis
The fries Emoji also features the smiley face Emoji as the logo on the box.

6. The code on the key Emoji is real
The code ‘UM242’ is the actual code for a type of key.

7. The legend of John Appleseed

John Appleseed was the pen name of Apple’s former CEO, Mike Markkula, named after pioneer Johnny Appleseed - that much we know is true. But according to a feature on TechRadar, John Appleseed - whose name appears on almost all Emojis containing writing - was a real man with a real background at Apple (if their feature is to be believed, we could be falling for a legendary hoax).

John apparently got in touch after seeing his name being used on trial products and – according to folklore – eventually became Steve Jobs’ pal and confidant for many years. The legend goes that it was John who gave Steve the idea for the Think Different text mentioned in No.1, which is why the clipboard Emoji is signed off ‘Take care, John Appleseed’ – allegedly an ‘inside nod’ to the man himself. As tech legends go, it’s a pretty good one, even if it’s totally fabricated.

8. The time on the alarm clock Emoji is impossible
The minute hand is in the 'on the hour' position, but the hour hand sits in between 7 and 8.

9. What you thought was some form of nut, is actually a sweet potato
Not only is the sweet potato Emoji NOT what you thought it was, it’s also roasted, apparently - according to Emojipedia.org.

10.  The horn is the old symbol for post.
So when you see the horn building Emoji, it’s actually a post office.

11. John Appleseed’s World Tour ticket has a seat and time.
The ticket holder is seated in Zone A, for a show on the 4th of January at 6:30 PM.

12. None of John Appleseed’s contact numbers work, but they used to
On John’s ID card Emoji, his phone numbers are invalid (we tried), although, a real number was previously used in text edit and was callable with an Apple mailbox for voicemails telling dialers to ‘head to Apple.com’.

13. The church has stained glass windows
Someone actually took the time to create tiny stained glass windows for the church Emoji.

14. The dragon is holding a crystal ball
Zoom in close enough, and you can see a crystal ball in the dragon’s claw.

15. Subliminal Soundcloud redirect?
If you search for the number on the slot machine ‘000025040016’, it takes you to a Soundcloud page (it’s the name of the file used for a user’s avatar).

16. The pager number is fake
Sorry to disappoint, but the number on the pager Emoji, 555-3215, is fictional.

17. The Metro Emoji is a nod to gamers
The front of the Metro train Emoji says ‘IL-2’, which some gamers would know as ‘IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey’, a combat fighter simulator game.


To settle any Emoji arguments, head to Emojipedia for the definitive guide to Emoji definitions – including what the heck those two dancing girls have on their heads and why there are two types of camels (info we all need).

To have a look at the detailing on Emojis in larger versions (you must have an Apple Mac for this), head to System / Library / Fonts / Apple Colour Emoji (make sure you hit the ‘view as 4’ option, top left).

Let us know via @YahooNewsUK if you spot any more.