Shady Characters

@shadychars
886 Followers
60 Following
603 Posts

Keith Houston's blog about unusual marks of punctuation. Author of SHADY CHARACTERS, THE BOOK, EMPIRE OF THE SUM and now FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY: A NATURAL HISTORY OF EMOJI (https://shadycharacters.co.uk/books/).

Personal account at https://mstdn.social/@orkneydullard.

Bloghttps://shadycharacters.co.uk
Facebookhttps://facebook.com/shadychars
Instagramhttps://instagram.com/shadychars
Shady Characters21h ago
The new version of the Shady Characters blog is now up! It's been a long time coming, but I'm finally happy (and by "finally" I mean "after four long years") with how it looks and works. A few details at https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2026/04/new-shady-characters-live/.
The new <cite>Shady Characters</cite> is now live!

Shady CharactersApr 9
I stumbled on Hurlingham's bookshop by Putney Bridge underground station while visiting London. What a treat! Stop by if you get the chance.
Shady CharactersApr 4

RE: https://lingo.lol/@abdalian/116342329264289767

A rare sighting of the interrobang in its natural habitat.

Shady CharactersMar 30
A reminder: the new version of Shady Characters will be launching soon! Comments, email notifications and WordPress integrations will all be changing, so take a look at https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2026/03/reminder-new-shady-characters/ if you'd like to learn more.
A reminder: the new/old Shady Characters will be launching soon – Shady Characters

Shady CharactersMar 27
Were you ever put through a slide show of someone’s holiday snaps? Well, I visited Egypt in February and have been telling anyone who will listen how fascinating a trip it was. Lacking a Kodak slide projector, I’ve written a few words about our experiences: https://staging.shadycharacters.co.uk/2026/03/egypt/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-shadychars
Shady CharactersMar 6
I had fun talking to Ian Chillag, Mike Danforth and Schuyler Swenson for an episode of NPR′s “How To Do Everything” in which they tried to answer a question from a listener called Autumn′s Hope. No, that isn′t a typo, and yes, the apostrophe is the key! Have a listen here: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/04/nx-s1-5725298/the-breakfast-rule
Shady CharactersFeb 20
I've been working on a non-WordPress version of the Shady Characters blog for a while now, and I'd love to get your feedback on it. There's a preview at https://staging.shadycharacters.co.uk; if you find anything unexpected, please leave a comment here or at https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2026/02/new-shady-characters-site/. Thanks!
<cite>Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji</cite>

Shady CharactersFeb 20
Mignon FogartyFeb 19

Did you know people were using capital letters to shout in print as far back as 1856? 

This week, I talked with Mastodon's very own technology historian, @glennf, who traced the history of "shouty caps" through centuries of newspapers, old Usenet posts, and even German dialect jokes.

There's also fascinating stuff about typesetters and costs. Check it out!

WATCH: https://youtu.be/ygyknQ3IDUo?si=FxyNRgCHEsO-uzus
READ: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/1161/transcript
LISTEN: https://pod.link/173429229

Shady CharactersFeb 14
Show threadDavid BelsonFeb 13
@Natasha_Jay Go even further down the rabbit hole: https://shadycharacters.co.uk/books/face-with-tears-of-joy/ by @shadychars
Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji – Shady Characters

Shady CharactersFeb 13

RE: https://zeppelin.flights/@glennf/116064884496960912

Glenn is endlessly knowledgeable about printing. This will be good!