Happy B-Day Mr. Smiley Face

[Tequila Revenge]

Today is the birthday of the man who designed the ubiquitous "Smiley Face," Harvey Ball, born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1921.

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

He was co-owner of an advertising and public relations firm in Worcester in 1963, and when two insurance companies went through an unfriendly merger, he was hired to create a "friendliness campaign" to ease tensions between resentful workers. He thought of the color yellow, which is cheerful, and drew a circle with a smiling mouth inside. That wouldn't do, though, because if you looked at it upside down, it looked like a frown; he added eyes and the Smiley was born. "There are two ways to go about it," he told the Associated Press. "You can take a compass and draw a perfect circle and make two perfect eyes as neat as can be. Or you can do it freehand and have some fun with it. Like I did. Give it character."

He was paid $45 for the design, and the first order was for 100 buttons. Within just a few months, they were selling by the millions. He never tried to copyright the design or expressed any regrets over not getting a cut of the profits, according to his son. "He wasn't a money-driven guy. He used to say, 'Hey, I can only eat one steak at a time.'"

http://www.worldsmile.org/

[dnw]

[springparrot]

Gee
I've never used a smilie before

[ph4ever]

So, Forest didn't wipe his his face on a towel while running to inspire it?

[RinglingRingling]

So, Forest didn't wipe his his face on a towel while running to inspire it?

he never ran thru Massachusetts...

[jayparrot46]