kerenThe First Emoticon May Have Appeared in ... 1648verified_publisherThe Atlantic - By Alexis C. MadrigalThe discovery would push back the pre-history of the emoticon by (at least) 200 years. A dedicated poetry reader appears to have discovered a smiley face in a poem from 1648, a find that would extend the pre-history of the emoticon back by about 200 years. Editor Levi Stahl, publicity manager for the …