People in Maine had a *very big* problem with the lobster emoji, so it’s getting a redesign
It’s practically a given that emojis aren’t going to be the most anatomically correct images, but it seems it doesn’t have to be that way after all. It’s official, everyone: The lobster emoji has been redesigned after people in Maine lost it over the fact that the original emoji had the wrong number of legs. Who says normal people can’t change the world?
If you’re as emoji obsessed as most of us are, you’re probably already getting pumped about the 157 brand new emojis that are set to hit our phones later this year — including a lobster. However, after Maine residents (aka people from the state known for its lobster) noticed that the lobster emoji on the Unicode website only had eight legs instead of the 10 that real lobsters have, they immediately took to social media to complain.
And guess what? The Unicode Consortium listened.
According to Bloomberg, Chief Emoji Officer (yes, this is a real job) Jeremy Burge announced that the lobster emoji would be getting a redesign, because considering that people have been clamoring for this sea creature to join the emoji world for years, what good would it be if it didn’t even have the right number of legs?
Karin, you must tell the world before it's too late: LOBSTER EMOJI IS MISSING A SET OF LEGS. Lobsters have 4 sets of legs, emoji has 3. Just the latest in a shameful history of inaccurate depictions lobster depictions. https://t.co/0sW4hFitUu
— Joel Rubin (@joelrubin) February 7, 2018
2018 emoji to include new food items, anatomically inaccurate lobster https://t.co/P1eEDgpCKy pic.twitter.com/YMWFihKjSa
— Irshad Ali Khan (@ImIrshadAliKhan) February 8, 2018
This tweet does a good job illustrating the changes that have been made:
Revamped lobster emoji gets a leg up (two, actually) after original design gets tripped up over anatomy: https://t.co/VS75axI9Hv #Maine #lobster pic.twitter.com/A7ttd09BXa
— Kevin Miller (@KevinMiller207) February 20, 2018
Not too shabby, right? Now we just have to wait until fall, when the lobster (and the rest of his brand new emoji friends) hit our phones.
Now that the lobster emoji looks the way it’s supposed to, what’s next? Can we finally get a Netflix emoji, please? Or maybe even a Starbucks cup? You know, since the powers that emoji are listening, we better put in our requests. Just the essentials.
