The big picture: The Unicode Consortium this week finalized Emoji 13.0 which includes 62 brand new emoji alongside 55 gender and skin tone variants. The non-profit organization's primary purpose is to ensure that people around the world can use computers in any language. The group was founded way back in 1991 but lately, they've gained attention as the body that selects emoji icons for use on mobile devices and on the web.
Emoji, as you know, have become a huge part of pop culture in recent years. Vermont is even considering adding emoji to license plates, a move that could pave the way for other states to follow suit if successful.
It's worth noting that the new emoji added in v13 are just samples; it'll be up to mobile phone vendors like Apple and Samsung to craft their own unique variants based on these recommendations.
Animals are well represented in the update as the consortium has added new variants for black cat, beaver, polar bear, bison and mammoth as well as seal and the dodo bird. In the food and drink category, we've now got bell peppers, blueberries, olives, bubble tea and tamales, among other treats.
Common household items and tools like mouse traps, buckets, toothbrushes, ladders and screwdrivers also populate the update. In total, there are now 3,304 glyphs in the Unicode Consortium's database.
Look for implementers to adopt these new emoji in upcoming software updates over the next several months.