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We finally have an answer to the monkey emoji question that divided the internet

monkeys 2
We finally have an answer. Megan Willett/Tech Insider

Last week, the internet found itself divided by a Twitter poll that asked whether the three monkey emojis are all one monkey making three faces, or three different monkeys entirely. 

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The poll was posted by comedy Twitter user "Jomny Sun," who's real name is Jonathan Sun, to his 154,000 followers. 

On Monday, the poll ended and the people of Twitter have spoken: Of the over 211,000 people who voted, 53% believe the monkey emojis are one monkey making three faces.

Tech Insider reached out to Jonny Sun to find out what inspired him to post the question to Twitter in the first place. 

Sun assumed that there would be a clear split, but says he has been pleasantly surprised by the conversations sparked by his initial tweet.

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"People use the emojis as proxies of themselves, so when I send it it's like I am the monkey expressing the emotion," he tells Tech Insider, "I guess I was wondering if when you send those, are you sending three separate monkeys or yourself experiencing those emotions." 

Sun himself ultimately agrees with the final results. He explains to TI though he understands the inspiration for the emojis may have come from the Japanese historical myth of the "three wise monkeys," that's not how most people interpret the monkeys in their daily lives.

"I think people use it not directly in relation to [the myth] and more on a personal level," he says.

three wise monkeys
The three wise monkeys represent "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil." Wikimedia Commons

Sun is a PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, he tells Tech Insider. He thinks he wants to focus on the way social media has changed how people use and interact with cities. 

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He says his own Twitter usage is "like one step more than purely recreational, but one step less than professional."

"I'm interested in social media: the linguistics and how social media has changed the way people talk to people," he explains. "One of the coolest ways this has happened is through these emojis, and it's become this new way to communicate."

Sun wrapped up the poll with a tweet that captures that idea: "This entire time, the monkey ... was [you]."

 The reactions to the final results were mixed:

Tech Insider reached out to Unicode for an official statement about the monkey emojis, but had not heard back at the time of this post. 

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