Emojis have always been the way of expressing emotions in this technological era. However, sometimes things may go a little haywire. On the occasion of World Emoji Day, Emojipedia in collaboration with Unicode Consortium had released a series of new emojis that are the finalists in a soon-to-be approved list by the Unicode Consortium. It is here that the netizens were confused to see Apple’s, Pregnant Man. This emoji is finally finding its place in the new iOS update.
As expected, it left Twitter in a state of chaos, with many finding it amusing, while others were left furious.
BUT WHY THE EMOJI MAN?
According to Emojipedia, the pregnant man emoji was introduced to offer the masculine, feminine and gender-neutral versions to every emoji available. They have also added several skin tones to the existing emojis. The pregnant man can thus be used to describe trans or non-binary pregnancies and is thus placed next to the pregnant woman’s emoji.
With the launch of Apple’s designs of 37 new emojis, approved by Emojipedia, the pregnant man has arrived with the beta testing, before the spring release. As of now, the two pregnant emojis have been seen as the “Pregnant Man”. However, there is also a possibility that the emoji could also mean “a tongue-in-cheek way to display a food baby”, or in simple terms, a man with a paunch.
REMEMBERING DELAP
The Twitterati were extensively divided with their opinion on this new emoji. Former British TV presenter Piers Morgan expressed his rage on Twitter claiming that “words fail” him.
David Moyes had called Delap “a human sling”. Arsene Wenger went to the extent of trying to change the rules to stop Delap. Like Moyes and Wenger, several other Premier League managers used to stand in awe at Delap’s iconic long throw-in.
Rory Delap was a javelin thrower in his youth and used to throw the balls over a long distance with such accuracy, that it used to often turn out to be a substitute for a corner kick. Delap’s throw-ins went as far as the six-yard box. Rory’s throw-ins and Stoke City’s set-pieces helped them survive the Premier League following their promotion the previous year.
By the end of the 2008/09 season, around 38 Premier League goals scored by Stoke City had come from Delap’s throw-ins.
But why did the Football Twitterati connect the emoji with Delap?
Well, just before the long shot, Delap would often put the ball under his shirt or use a towel to dry the ball to get a better grip for the throw.
As he had said, “If I throw the perfect ball, with the height and quality of the players in our team, I think it is undefendable”. Such long throw-ins have been used in the Premier League since, but none as efficient and terrorizing as Rory Delap’s.
