The Black Dot of Death emerged in early 2018 as a viral prank that caused messaging apps like WhatsApp and iMessage to freeze or crash instantly. While the message appeared to be just a simple black circle emoji, it secretly contained thousands of hidden Unicode characters that overwhelmed the software's text-rendering engine when touched. It became a widespread digital nuisance as users sent it to group chats to 'break' their friends' phones for a laugh. While the technical exploit was eventually patched by developers, the image of the black dot persists as a legendary internet prank, symbolizing digital sabotage and the hilarious fragility of mobile operating systems.