The gamut of smileys and stickers on the internet can probably never make up to what has been delivered by the good old LOL. And its that time of the year when this iconic acronym, now an official word celebrates its birthday. The first ever recorded occurrence of LOL was in May 1989. It is said to have appeared on an International Fidonet Association Newsletter. Though it was just an acronym of “laugh out loud” it was officially incorporated into the Oxford Dictionary in 2011.
There are multiple interpretations of LOL and the most conceived of them all is when British Prime Minister David Cameron ended his texts to Rebeka Brooke with LOL believing that he actually wished her “lots of love”. Another incident that brought a rather nasty circumstance is when a woman texted her son “Your great aunt just passed away. LOL” three years ago.
Though the popular scene is handled single- handedly by LOL it has some not so worth mentioning cousins. They might not take center stage but they are present in the side wings. ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing ), LOLOLOL(which is just multiple times of laughing out loud) and LOOOOOL(just a prolonged laughter session- facepalm) are some of the most annoying versions of the gamechanger LOL.
It might be 25 years since the founding of the epochal word but its charm and class are not facing endangerment let alone extinction in the near future. It will remain in vogue throughout the internet age. Its served as the holy grail of all those lives that claim to be laughing while they are really only sitting there typing away.