# Ampersand smilie? Where'd that come from?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [December 30, 2000, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758 "2000-12-30T04:11:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2000, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758/1 "2000-12-30T04:11:36Z")

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If you type an ampersand then a right parentheses, you get the semi-colon + parantheses smilie. But it leaves the ampersand instead of replacing it. It must be a conspiracy!

- 🙂 - 😉 - &) -

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2000, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758/2 "2000-12-30T14:27:52Z")

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_Damn! He’s cracked the code! He must be stopped. Sabertooth, on your way…And– **do not fail me this time…** _

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**Author:** ![Spider\_Woman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Spider\_Woman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider_Woman)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2000, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758/3 "2000-12-30T14:45:13Z")

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That ampersand smilie is holding his hat instead of wearing it.

------&  
----:p/ x o x o  
----///\\

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**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2000, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758/4 "2000-12-30T20:45:04Z")

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The only thing I can think of is that it might have something to do with the html escape sequences, which all begin with an ampersand and end with a semicolon, which is optional in IE. The ampersand is probably transformed into & instead of a simple ampersand, which in IE would display as an ampersand and a winking smilie.

If I’m right, greater and less than symbols should do the same thing next to parantheses, since I know those are transformed to html escape sequences to prevent us from using html.

\>) \<)

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**Author:** ![Anonymous\_c38f64651bbfc0fca993c5b066c30099](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@Anonymous\_c38f64651bbfc0fca993c5b066c30099](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_c38f64651bbfc0fca993c5b066c30099)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758/5 "2000-12-31T01:34:14Z")

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Then I bet there’s another one

\*\*& **j**  
&j

Yep!

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**Author:** ![Anonymous\_c38f64651bbfc0fca993c5b066c30099](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@Anonymous\_c38f64651bbfc0fca993c5b066c30099](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_c38f64651bbfc0fca993c5b066c30099)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersand-smilie-whered-that-come-from/47758/6 "2000-12-31T01:42:29Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by ¦:•) \*  
> \*\*Then I bet there’s another three
> 
> \*\*& **j**  
> &j  
> \*\*\< **j**  
> \<j  
> \*\*\> **j**  
> \>j
> 
> Yep! \*\*