The simple bright yellow sphere with its two little black dots and the U shaped curve beneath the dots has been popular the world over as a cheerful icon.
The smiley face can be found on countless products and innumerable samples of grafitti. It has found it's way to the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China and even the Caves of Qumran.
It has been used sincerely and as a satirical jab at dopey bliss. But the recent collapse of the world economy with its severe consequences of unemployment, poverty and hunger has even effected the design of the ubiquitous happy puss.
In an eerie imitation of Edvard Munch's The Scream, the yellow smiley fellow has developed wide open eyes that look like they have seen a ghost and the once mile wide upturned mouth now seems to be emitting a desperate cry of anguish.
The cheerful circle has morphed into an ominous triangle and a dark hole in the center gives the symbol a strange nose.The new image has been copyrighted by the New York stock Exchange though George Bush has brought a law suit claiming that he is the true original caused of the transformed countenance of the new century.
