Were they using emoticons back in the era of Abraham Lincoln?

“… there is no precedent for your being here yourselves, (applause and laughter ;) and I offer, in justification of myself and you, that I have found nothing in the Constitution against.”

Hyperlinking and semantic play is really the result of the invention of the Internet, an idea that was not really in play at all in Lincoln’s time or before then.

What is really astounding, and not mentioned in the article, are the ads for a weightloss tonic and “click here” for cheaper horse insurance at the bottom of the page.

It should also be noted that electronic addresses are also not new.

Which is why the past is never completely surprised by the future.

Perhaps the typesetter should have embedded “==|;o)>” and left no room for doubt.