The earliest smiley? :)

Last Sunday during our parish Scripture class, I happened to note what looks like the world's oldest smiley. Referring to God's Secretaries by Adam Nicholson, a gift from Fr. McGrath during an autumn retreat, we can probably lay credit to at least one of: Thomas Ravis, George Abbot, Richard Eedes, Giles Tomson, Sir Henry Savile, John Peryn or Perne, Ralph Ravens,, John Harmar, Leonard Hutten, John Agionby, and James Montague or Montagu.

Who are these folks? The "Second Oxford Company," the unsung and mostly unknown translators of "The Acts of the Apostles" for the King James Bible. (If you haven't read Nicholson's book, I recommend it.)

And if you read the end product of their work, in Acts 18:2, some 4 centuries later (online even), you'll see an Internet smiley; ":)".

I have no idea why that colon is there but I've checked a number of places and it's there.

So I'll add, for all the rest of the Internet junkies who read this blog: Anglicans may have had the smiley first. (Look it up! :)