Alcoholic Drinks Banned from Apple Messages!

This post was published more than a few years ago (on 2013-10-29) and may contain inaccurate technical information, outmoded thoughts, or cringe takes. Proceed at your own risk.

Ahh... I've always wanted to write one of those link-bait post titles. Now at least I have a fun excuse.

Normal EmojiMissing Emoji

I noticed today that in the "Smiley menu" in the Messages compose window, that the alcoholic beverages have been edited out. Normally, in the Objects section of the emoji menu, the order goes Baby Bottle, Beer Mug, Clinking Beer Mugs, Cocktail Glass, Tropical Drink, Wine Glass, then Fork and Knife --- but for some reason, in the Smiley menu, the emoji skips from Baby Bottle straight to Fork and Knife.

A co-worker pointed out that if you type ⌃-⌘-space in the message text area, the alcoholic emoji show up in that menu. And if you scroll in the Smiley menu to reveal the search bar at the top, and type part of the english name (beer, drink, etc.) they show up in the search as well.

Totally bizarre. I wonder what the intent was. Hiding drinks while you're at work? (But driving in your car with your phone on the dash, they're A-O-K!)