At first glance, this blue shark emoji looks totally fine. Sharp teeth. Forked tail. Pointy fin.
But Emily Simpson, who works at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, noticed a problem. The emoji does not look the same as a real shark!
Shark after (left) and Shark before (right)
Not Just Sharks
Most sharks are gray or brown, with a fin on each side. But the shark emoji was blue with just one side fin.
The shark wasn’t the only emoji with faults. The octopus emoji had eyes in the middle of its face. A real octopus has an eye on each side of its face. This helps it spot enemies. And the pufferfish emoji looked spiky and puffed up. But pufferfish puff up only when they are scared. Emily thought the pufferfish should be relaxed.
Emily wrote about the mistakes online. The companies that design emojis saw the messages. They worked with Emily to fix some of the symbols!
Octopus before (left) and Octopus after (right)
New Emojis
The pufferfish stayed the same.
Why is it important to have accurate emojis? Well, emojis are one of the most popular ways we communicate. They help us express how we’re feeling.
Many people say it’s important that emojis are as real as possible. To Emily, that’s especially true for sea creatures.
Today the shark emoji is gray with two side fins. And on many devices, the octopus emoji has eyes where they should be. The pufferfish stayed the same. But Emily feels good about the new emojis.
“Emojis can change the way we think about animals in the ocean,” Emily explains.
Can't Miss Teaching Extras
Did your students love learning about emojis? They can discover more fun facts about the icons while learning rules of capitalization in “Fascinating Facts About Emojis.”
For another Mini Read about an interesting creature, read “This Frog Is See-Through!” to learn about a translucent amphibian.
Dive into our Big Read “Saving the Great White Monster” to learn more about sharks, including why they’re in danger. Then go behind the scenes with Lauren Tarshis in our video to learn more about her writing process!
