Just when we were reeling at the thought of branded emoticons, along comes the 25th anniversary of the ubiquitous smiley face.

While we're all thankful that those crazy "super-customized" emoticons have faded from view, people still use the smiley and frown icons all the time, everywhere from e-mail to IM to texting on phones.

Check out this AIM page for basic definitions, including AOL's official explanation of the Frowning Smiley: "Seriously, duh." We'll have to leave it at that.

The Web smiley's motto: Grin and bear it [CNET News]