In case you left Earth last week and were visiting an entirely different planet, you've surely already heard of the iOS 9.1 emoji update. Released on Wednesday, the update boasts 184 new emoji, including the highly coveted taco, cheese wedge, and burrito emoji. But of course, with all new things comes the culture of people doing those things wrong; as such, there will inevitably be some emoji you're using incorrectly as you're still getting used to all the fantastic new options offered by the update.
People using emoji incorrectly is nothing new; furthermore, it isn't always the users' fault, because some emoji are just plain unclear. The information desk emoji, for example, is widely (and, in my opinion, reasonably) interpreted as a hair flip or waitress emoji, because why would a person at an information desk mysteriously be holding their hand out like that? Or how about the emoji that looks like a shooting star, which apparently is supposed to signify dizziness? Or how about the fact that there are nine cat emoji? There's no way I could learn the nuances of their differences on my own!
So whether the Unicode Standard is at fault or you're just not interpreting the little symbols accurately, here are 10 of the new additions you're probably using incorrectly — and how to fix them.
1. Fog
I don't know about you, but I thought this emoji was showing up in my phone as some sort of glitch in the system, causing a grey square where there should be an actual emoji. When I realized that it was an emoji in and of itself, I used my investigative journalism skills to discern that, since it was in the weather section, it must be a weather-related thing. Was it overcast skies? Smoke from a forest fire? The way the air will look when humans finally destroy the environment? Turns out, it's just fog. So if you're using this one incorrectly, don't be too hard on yourself; just figuring out that it's an emoji at all is better than anyone could expect. And hey, now you've got a way to A) tell people when you're stuck in a John Carpenter movie, and B) describe how you feel when you didn't get enough sleep the night before all in one go, right?
2. Man in Business Suit Levitating
If you're using this man in a business suit emoji to represent any ol' business man you're using it wrong. This isn't just any business man. This is a magical, levitating business man who will float all the way up to the glass ceiling, help all the other floating business people of all genders shatter it, and then float away forever, leaving all these important companies to people who are more qualified than he is, but who have hitherto been left out of the business landscape for decades. Like women! And trans or non-binary people! And people of color! Thanks, levitating business man!
3. Prayer Beads
As a small image, this one looks like it could be a fancy pearl necklace — but it turns out that it's actually an image of prayer beads, also known as a rosary in the Catholic church and tasbih within the Muslim faith.
4. Hot Pepper
If you're using this emoji to describe anything or anyone but your crush or significant other you're doing it wrong. Sure, this can represent a food item, spiciness, or flavor, but we as a people need to replace the eggplant emoji — and what better alternative than a spicy hot pepper?
5. Funeral Urn
For those who thought this was a fancy vase (like I did), make sure you don't use it as such again. It's actually a funeral urn.
6. Hugging Face
No, this isn't a happy person with jazz hands or Judy Garland in the 1954 film A Star is Born ; it's actually an innocent little nugget coming at you with a hug. Awwwww, how sweet.
7. Place of Worship Emoji
This emoji isn't someone crouching in their house — it's a person knelt in prayer at a mosque, church, synagogue, or other place of worship. Good to know.
8. Level Slider
Though it looks like a thermometer, this one is actually a level slider — you know, the kind of thing you use when you're in the studio recording that fine mix tape.
9. Face With Rolling Eyes
Contrary to popular believe, this emoji isn't actually looking up with concern at the levitating businessman — he's rolling his eyes. Consider it an alternative to the sideye emoji.
10. Card File Box
You're probably using the card file box emoji wrong simply because you don't know what it is. Back in the day, people used to file index cards and business cards away in these bad boys. RIP, 1990s.
Images: Emojipedia (10)
