🕵️ A Study in Emojis

Image: Giphy

• Before we begin, the necessary caveats: 1) Gauging public sentiment at scale is extraordinarily difficult and 2) The report only analyzes emojis used in public posts; texting and messaging apps were not included – but this analysis of over 20 billion data points can help us glean knowledge on how people use emojis and emoticons to express themselves online.

How We Feeling, Internet?

First, let’s take a look at 2020:

Images: Brandwatch, BuzzSumo, & Falcon.io

And now, 2021:

Top 5 Answers Are on the Board… 1)😭, 2) 😂, 3) ✨, 4) ❤️, and 5) 🥺 are the most-used emojis so far in 2021.

• The loudly crying face emoji was the second most shared emoji in 2020 (😭), and the face with tears of joy was #1 (😂).
• ✨, ❤️, 🥺, and 🤣 have remained as #3, #4, #5, and #6 respectively for two years straight.
• The use of🔥, 🥰, and 🙏 increased in 2021, pushing 😊 off the top 10 list.

Zoom out… There are 3,353 or 3,521 total emojis (the total depends on which source is used), and more get added fairly regularly.

• Statista reported 334 new emojis were released last year, a process overseen by the Unicode Consortium, which provides a unique code for every character, in every language, in every program, on every platform, so users and programmers can develop content in their native language.

On the horizon: Per Adobe’s 2021 World Emoji Day report, the majority of global emoji users agree that emojis will be better developed and more progressive in the next five years.

• Seventy-six of respondents agree that emojis are an important communication tool for creating unity, respect, and understanding of one another. Another 70% agree that inclusive emoji can help spark positive conversations about important cultural and societal issues.

+Bonus: Sending Smiley Emojis? They Now Mean Different Things to Different People

🎁 DONUT Headline: Ten years ago, the word ‘doge’ evoked thoughts of a cute meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog. Today, it’s the name behind the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in the world – and barely a day goes by without it grabbing headlines next to (or because of) names like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban.

🌮 Let’s Talk Tacos

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Try Mr. Tortilla today.

Image: Annelise Capossela/Axios

The plan, outlined by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, calls for the third dose to be administered roughly eight months after people get their second dose.

• It marks a shift from previous comments made by U.S. health officials, who said in recent months that fully vaccinated Americans did not need booster shots at this time.

It also comes as early data from an observational study in Israel found a Pfizer booster shot given to people aged 60 and above reduced the risk of infection by 86% (and the risk of severe infection by 92%).

🤿 A deeper dive… Murthy cited emerging evidence indicating the vaccines lose some of their protection against mild and moderate infections over time, especially when dealing with the Delta variant.

• ​​The third dose will be the exact same as the second from a standard two-dose regimen, sources told the WSJ. People are recommended to get the same brand as their first two shots.
• Health officials said recipients of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also most likely require a booster shot, but declined to make a formal recommendation until seeing results from a clinical trial that provided participants with two J&J doses.

✋ Yes, but… The director of the World Health Organization objected to the U.S. plan, arguing the vaccines should be directed towards poor countries that don’t have enough doses for their initial round of shots.

• Earlier this month, the organization called for a temporary moratorium on booster shots until at least 10% of all the world’s countries are vaccinated.

France, Britain, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Russia, and others have also announced plans to administer booster shots domestically, citing the risk posed by variants.

👁️ Looking ahead… The U.S.’ overall plan for booster shots is still dependent on FDA emergency use authorization of a third dose for the general public and a review by a CDC advisory panel.

🚀 Cleanup Crew

Image: Aurora Propulsion Technologies

Space junk is defined as any human-generated object in space that is longer functional - and there’s a lot of it. The U.S. Department of Defense keeps track of ~27,000 pieces of orbital debris, but it’s estimated there are millions of pieces of space junk floating in low Earth orbit (LEO).

• As private space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin continue to drive down the cost of launches, the amount of trash in space is expected to accumulate at accelerating rates.

Enter Aurora Propulsion Technologies: In a few months, the company will send its AuroraSat-1 CubeSat into LEO for its first in-space demonstration.

• Equipped with a combination of thrusters and “Plasma Brakes,” Aurora's new tech will be able to stabilize satellites as well as de-orbit them – that is, send them crashing back down to Earth.

Keep reading.

Images: Lily’s Pad

In December 2017, three-year-old Lily Taylor was taken to the hospital with what her parents thought was a severe ear infection.

• After a host of tests and a night in the ER, her parents were shocked to hear their daughter had leukemia.

Over the next two and a half years, Lily fought for her life, undergoing intense chemotherapy treatments and operations. All the while, she just wanted to be a normal kid.

• Now, Lily is cancer free, and the seven year old is creating a space she wished was there when she was in treatment – Lily’s Pad, the first ever hyper-cleaned indoor playspace for immunocompromised kids.

Keep reading.

Can you name this U.S. state? ☝️

(keep scrolling for the answer)

Access exclusive rewards and even an all-expenses-paid round trip to Austin, TX, just for sharing this newsletter.

Simply:

1. Copy your unique referral link.👇
2. Post said link on social media, drop it in your group chat, incorporate it into your social media handle, etc.
3. Watch the rewards roll in.

No link found!

Answer: Pennsylvania