On October 13 2009, YouTube user Rozzzafly uploaded a video of a kitten being tickled. When the tickling stopped, the kitten threw up its paws in surprise. Within two weeks, the video had 7,000,000 views. As of August 2010, it has over 29,800,000 views.
Origin
According to Canada’s The Star and French newspaper LePost.fr, the kitten is named Attila Fluff. At the time, she was between 6 and 10 weeks old. According to Rozzzafly’s mom, the kitten is “independent, aggressive, and … a big ball of fur” (The Star).
On December 2, 2009, Ray William Johnson included Surprised Kitty in that day’s episode. The segment is at :35. That same day, ABC News showed the video on their broadcast:
On December 3, 2009, SurprisedKitty.com was created, with an embed of the original video.
Tosh.0 reenacted it in January 2010, in which Tosh put on cat ears and whiskers and reenacted the video.
“How About I Slap Your Shit?” is a popular catchphrase associated with a stillshot of David the Gnome, the protagonist character in the 1987 Spanish animation series “The World of David the Gnome.”
Origin
The still shot originates from an unknown scene in “The World of David the Gnome,”[1] an animation series exploring the world of gnomes in great details through the main character David.
The earliest known instance of “How About I Slap Your Shit” macro dates to February 2010, which first appeared on 4chan during the height of Epic Beard Man frenzy. In the original AC Transit Bus Fight video, the quote “I’ll slap your shit” can be heard during the hostile exchange between Thomas Bruso and Michael:
Michael: I’d put my foot up your ass.
Bruso: I see tough guys like you and I slap the shit out of them.
Michael: What?!
Another passenger: Stop it!
Perhaps due to the arguable resemblance between David the Gnome and Thomas Bruso, some of the first Epic Beard Man image macros featured David with captions like “I’m a motherfucker” and “I’ll slap your shit.”
Spread
Throughout the first half of 2010, the image macro and the phrase became increasingly visible across 4chan and subsequently spread across other online communities, most notably on DeviantART[2] where users began drawing derivative images based on the template. David the Gnome instance has been reblogged by various internet humor blogs such as Cheezburger[3] and FunnyJunk[4]. There’s also a Facebook Page[5] titled “How About I Slap Your Shit”, not to mention the single serving site":/memes/single-serving-sites with the same title[6].
Usage
The image macro gained much of its popularity through usage on 4chan[7][8] and other similar forums, typically in response to another member’s idiocy or ramblings. There are dozens of derivatives based on the original template, featuring David as other recognizable characters, mostly related to videogames.
Jessica Leonhardt, also known as Jessi Slaughter and formerly as KerliGirl13 on YouTube, is an 11 year old girl and fan of the band Blood on the Dance Floor whose attention-seeking online behaviors caused her to become the target of a 4chan raid, resulting in a rage-fueled and ill-advised retort from her father that became the subject of masses of image macros and videos.
What Happened
The situation began on StickyDrama, a Stickam tabloid consisting of self-submitted stories from the site’s community, consisting mostly of rumors and gossip written by and about tweens.
On July 10th, StickyDrama user tdomf_e8e13posted an accusation that Blood on the Dancefloor’s Dahvie Vanity was supposedly involved with Jessi:
BOTDF lead singer Dahvie Vanity is at it again! He was apparently having a “friend with benefits” type of relationship with self-proclamed “scene queen” Jessi Slaughter who is only 11! … I found this pic of the two of them at the may 2nd concert in Orlando.
…I have also talked to other people who say that they did fuck last sumer when she was 10. I cannot believe that Dahvie has sunk to this level! I don’t know whether this rumor is true, but if it is he’s disgusting!
Muh Mom Has Read This And Is Talking To Dahvie On The Fone Right Nao!
So I Would Shut Your Mouths If I Were You!
I Have Muh Life And Dahvie Has His.
We Are Just Friends!
Original video
Jessi Slaughter was, at this point, something of a micro-celeb on StickyDrama, and had been posting questionable images and videos on her Myspace, YouTube, and other social networking profiles.
But one video in particular caught the attention of 4chan’s /b/:
Trolling
The effects of her videos being posted to /b/ and various Tumblr blogs led to Anonymous trolling her with taunts of her being stupid and ugly. She replied with comebacks that had little effect on the trollers.
Anonymous soon found out all of her personal information (phone number, address, Twitter, etc.) From here, the attacks escalated. The trolls managed to get her email by sending her friend requests on Facebook with unusual names like “I.P. Freely.” Despite this, Jessi continued, making a Tumblr account, posting pictures to continue taunting the trolls.
Jessi is seen answering the phone for the prank call above in this Stickam video. She is also quoted as saying “Any type of fame, I’ll take.” at the beginning.:
Jessi’s Father
When Jessi made this tearful response video, her father came into the shot, delivering an angry rant to YouTube. Unwittingly, he delivered a few phrases that soon become highly-quoted in image macros and other articles including “You done goofed,” “backtraced,” “cyberpolice,” and “consequences will never be the same.”
Spread
Sometime in the afternoon of July 16, 2010, baseless rumors of “Jessi Slaughter Given PCP by Her Father” began to rise rapidly on YouTube and Google Trends. The malicious hoax was soon picked up by social bookmarking services and popular blogs, who eventually speculated 4chan users for propagating the disinformation.
Information in this section is being updated as it comes in.
According to Jessi’s mom, Dianne Leonheardt, in addition to the prank calls placed after her phone number was spread on the internet, the family began receiving death threats. Because of this, Gawker reported on the evening of July 18th that Jessi had been placed under police protection soon after the video went viral. The local sheriff has begun a criminal investigation into this calls and a court has ordered her to stay off the internet until at least July 21st. In addition, the family is currently under constant police surveillance.
Several hours later, Gawker updated their article to note that a spokeswoman from the Marion County, Florida sheriff’s department stated that, while there is a current investigation involving an eleven year old girl, they are looking into the existence of pornographic pictures of her and the prank calls referencing them. The spokeswoman was also quoted as saying “There have been no death threats or threats of harm in any way.”
The latest footage allegedly shows a heated argument between Jessi and her dad, recorded by another Tinychat user who was logged in the chat room at the time [section to be updated]:
4chan vs. Gawker
Included in Adrian Chen’s series of articles about the situation was one entitled The Art of Trolling: Inside a 4chan Smear Campaign. After outlining 4chan’s plan of attack against Dahvie Vanity with screenshots and links, Chen linked to a chatroom, daring readers to troll it. Enraged, /b/ set out to take down Gawker’s main servers around noon on July 19th. When the site did not go down, an attack against Adrian Chen was launched. Gawker posted about the entire plot, stating that they were not afraid.
On July 20th, Momlogic.com interviewed Jessi’s mother; revealing her own lack of parental supervision.
Excerpt:
ml: Were you aware that your daughter had been making and posting these videos online?
DL: Jessica has a webcam and a computer. All of her friends have webcams, too, so they video chat with each other. I knew she’d made a video to apply for “America’s Got Talent.” She sings and sent an audition video in. I had no idea she was making other videos. I have seen her chatting with her friends, but not making videos.
ml: When did you find out about the videos, and what was your reaction?
DL: The officers had said there were videos, but Jess denied making them. Then my mother-in-law called and said there were videos. But I haven’t watched them. I can’t be in the room 24/7. We tried to talk to Jess last night, but she got very upset all over again. I am trying to get her back to normal. It’s taken a very emotional toll on her. I don’t know if she made these videos or not, but she says she didn’t. Right now, I am trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not. This has been very difficult to deal with.
Jessi on Good Morning America
On July 22nd Jessi appeared on Good Morning America to discuss how the reaction to her videos has changed her life and revealed she would begin counseling. (Gawker)
4chan prepared for a mention from the show with Operation /b/ipolar, and played the Good Morning America theme in the background of the /b/ board with a stickied thread featuring this image:
Dimitri Finds Out, also known as “musical personality" ("Музыкальная личность”) in Russian[2], is a series of parody videos that use false subtitles in a similar manner to the Hitler Reacts series. The videos feature a clip of an interview taken inside a Russian techno club and are accompanied by custom subtitles used to make Dimitri appear as if he cannot contain his excitement about a subject, forcing him to dance.
Origin
On October 11th, 2008, the original Russian news show clip was posted to YouTube by user 4gfdy. A subtitled version was posted by YouTuber Rammsteinchile95 with the title “Very Bad Music” on January 5th, 2010. The translation revealed that the interviewer was asking a man about the genre of music playing in the club, to which he responds by breaking out in dance to the song “Sound of Sunday” by Joonas Hahmo.[4]
The man in the video is unknown, but the blog Tribute to Dimitri[5] tracked down several photos of him outside the video. The earliest parody video was uploaded to YouTube[6] on January 27th, 2010 and was accompanied by subtitles complaining about bots found on the illegal drug site Silk Road.
Spread
On July 7th, 2010, one of the first popular Dimitri remixes was uploaded by YouTuber NiteHighway.[7] This version posed the conversation as a troll being interviewed about Blizzard’s Real ID system for Battle.net. It was shared on Reddit[8], GameTrailers[9] and FunnyJunk.[10]
On March 16th, 2011, YouTuber adipuppy uploaded a version in which Dimitri finds out that it’s Friday[11] as a response to the Rebecca Black video. This video appeared on FunnyJunk[12], VideoSift[13], pop culture blog Blame It On The Voices[14] and the Body Building forums.[15]
Notable Examples
Search Interest
Search for Dimitri Finds Out peaked in March 2011, coinciding with the Friday version.
Reporter Turns Ghetto in 3 Seconds is a viral video depicting a former KARK-4 reporter’s colorful reaction to a bug flying directly into his mouth during his on-camera news report.
Origin
In 1995, KARK-4 field reporter Isiah Carey covered a story on the death of a high school student in Augusta, Arkansas. During the filming of his on-camera segment, an insect flew into his mouth, instantly causing Isiah to lose his composure and launch into a profane rant about his displeasure with the shoot location. Incidentally, the off-the-script blooper highlights the noticeable difference between his rehearsed reporting voice and his natural manner of speech.
The video was originally uploaded by Youtube user bizarremedia on April 18th, 2008 as a part of their short series of news bloopers called Roving Reporter Etiquette.
Spread
On June 10th, 2008, the video was featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, bringing exposure of the video to a national audience.
That same day, the video was re-uploaded by YouTuber nuttcrushernigel who has gotten the majority of the views. The original has only 600,000, while the re-upload has accumulated over 7 million.
The video was soon uploaded to sites such as planetvids and other various video sharing web sites.
The video occupies spot #99 on Greg Rutter’s influential list of viral hits, youshouldhaveseenthis.com
Spoofs/Remixes
Reporter Turns Ghetto In 3 Seconds!! (SPOOF)User:Asthecomic 1,200,000+ views
PLay Him Off Ghetto Keyboard Cat User:nburch1mailcom 800,000+ views
Dancing Spider-man refers to an animated GIF image of the classic Marvel superhero character Spider-man performing a ballet dance set to a blank white background.
Origin
The original GIF file was uploaded via London-based blog Pants On Head[1] sometime in June 2002. This image became very popular on the site and brought a significant boost to the site’s traffic, according to its subsequent blog article[2] posted on July 12th, 2002.
The choreography was modeled after the CGI animation of a dance routine originally used by the Korean pop group C.L.E.O for the single titled “Illusion.” The video was found and uploaded online by YouTuber Bbjenks on May 1st, 2009.
Spread
In the following months, the GIF file was adapted into two popular flash animations; the first instance, titled “Spiderman Baila Aserejé”[3] featured disco lighting and the song “Aserejé” by the Andalusian-Spanish pop group Las Ketchup.[4]
The other flash animation titled “Spiderman Will Make You Gay”[5] was created and uploaded via B3TA forum by Rob Manuel in September 2002. This instance featured a dubbed audiotrack with the lyrics “I’m not gay, I’m not gay, but I dance around in a gay, gay way. I’m not gay, no, no way, but watching me dance will make you gay!” before the animation fades to the text “SPIDERMAN has made you GAY.”
The GIF continued to circulate throughout various discussion forums and BBS communities in the early 2000s, eventually reaching the GIF-sharing community YTMND on September 13th, 2005 with the site titled “Work It Spidey”[6] uploaded by user SuperORB. At least 20 “Dancing Spiderman” YTMND sites have been created between 2005 and 2008, with the highest viewed instance being Crippled Spiderman VS Dancing Spiderman! What.[7]
Over time, the animation reached the video-sharing site YouTube where it spawned dozens of derivative videos set to various audio tracks. For more video examples, please browse the video gallery.
Search Interest
As the Google Insights graph shows, search queries for “Dancing Spider Man” has been gradually waning over the past years.
The Final Boss of the Internet is a mythological character that is supposedly found at the “final level” of the Internet if it were imagined as a video game. The term is generally used to refer to any object, person or place that can be seen as very powerful or difficult to overcome.
Origin
According to an article on the archive site The Armory[10], the first video game to incorporate defeatable bosses was the 1975 role-playing game dnd. The game incorporated many of the elements behind the table top game Dungeons & Dragons, and was designed for the PLATO computer system. The point of the game was to defeat a final boss named “Gold Dragon” who protected an orb which would end the game once collected by the player.
The earliest known reference to the Internet as a video game with an end boss comes from an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) log archived on Bash.org[1] as early as September 2002 according to Google cached data. This shares the same source of origin for the expression “you win the Internet”.
<BombScare>… i beat the internet
<BombScare>… the end guy is hard
Tropes entry for “Final Boss”[2] was created on August 9th, 2010 and defines the character as the “last major challenge in many video games.”
Usage
The phrase “final boss of the Internet” is typically used in jest as a way of saying someone or something is so strong, mysterious, or weird looking, that they must be the Internet’s last standing ruler. The first Urban Dictionary definition for “final boss of the Internet” was submitted by user Krem on January 9th, 2005.
Sometimes, people jokingly refer to the internet as a game of sorts, and, like all games, it must have a final boss. Who or what the final boss truly is has been disputed, but one of the more accepted claims is that the position is held by Scott Willoughby, aka StaringVacantly.
Entities that are commonly referred to as “the final boss of the Internet” include the ad-hoc Internet subculture Anonymous and a rainbow version of the llama-like creature Bunchie.
Spread
The earliest known archived 4chan[7] thread mentioning the final boss was titled “Ulilillillia – the final boss of the internet”, about game designer and author Nick Smith (aka ulillillia), was posted on November 20th, 2007.
On October 8th, 2008, the tech blog Romhack[8] published a post titled “Anonymous: final boss of the Internet?” which described the culture of Anonymous on 4chan. On July 8th, 2009, a video titled “Rainbow Bunchie (aka Final Boss of the Internet)” featuring a rainbow colored animated Bunchie was uploaded to YouTube by user martianmedia. The video accumulated over 1.7 million views within 2.5 years.
On September 5th, 2009, the first Yahoo Answers question for “Who is the final boss of the internet?” was submitted by user Vault Boy. The top ranked answer chosen by voters was “Anon” by user nezvoratue.
On October 1st, 2011, a post titled “Final Boss of the Internet” was posted to the humor site Cracked[4] claiming that Anonymous was not the final boss of the Internet. A Facebook[9] page for “The Final Boss of teh Internets” has received 308 likes as of February 14th, 2012.
this meme is a spin-off of another four-paneled comic featuring the same character, without headphones. instead of saying “Today, I will listen to X”, he says: “Today, I will spin my chair.” In panel two, instead of “Clueless” it says “lol spin that chair” and then he says in the 3rd panel “Spun that chair” and in the 4th, “Spun it good”. this was a meme in itself, spinning off with loads of X-ed that Y, X-ed it good.
h2. Origin
One of the earliest “Today I Will Listen to Some X” image threads was posted via 4chan’s /mu/ board (music) in early February 2010 (NSFW) and similar image threads continued to surface on 4chan and related forums throughout the summer.
Spread
While Google search reveals a number of blog posts and bookmarks carrying images of “Today I Will Listen to X”, most instances are believed to have originated from 4chan’s /mu/ board.
Very Erotic Very Violent (occasionally translated to “Very Pornographic Very Violent”) is a Chinese internet catchphrase involving satire and criticism of China Central Television’s daily news show, Xinwen Lianbo, and its usage of the phrase, “Very Erotic Very Violent” in a news report. As part of a series on “Very X Very Y” phrasal templates, “Very Erotic Very Violent” is also related to Very Good Very Powerful.
On December 27th of 2007, Xinwen Lianbo aired a report on how “easy” it is to access objectionable content on the Internet. In it, 13-year-old schoolgirl Zhang Shu (张殊) says, “上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力，我赶紧把它给关了。”
This is translated as, “Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly closed the page.”
In Simplified Chinese, it is written “很黄很暴力” (Pinyin: “hěn huáng hěn bàolì”). When translated literally, this means “Very Yellow Very Violent,” and as a result, calling something “too yellow” is oftentimes considered a part of the joke.
Thus, in early 2008, internet parodying would ensue along with ridiculing of the CCTV network, and “很黄很暴力” would become an internet catchphrase.
Online Origin
On January 1, 2008, a human flesh search was started on MOP forums for information on the “Very Erotic very Violent” girl. The thread enticed users with virtual currency as a reward, and it eventually reached more than 1200 posts. The users revealed much of Zhang Shu’s personal information, including her address, phone number, and other contact information.
Ning’s Blog named CCTV’s website as the number one “very erotic very violent” website on January 7, 2008.
Other toplists of “very erotic very violent” things, like this one posted on January 8, 2008 (which says shows similar to The Simpsons are apparently “too yellow”).
One of the most popular images associated with “Very Erotic, Very Violent” is a drawing of Zhang Shu saying, “Very Erotic Very Violent,” and originates from the original MOP thread. These two are the most popular variations:
They parody the actual interview:
And spawned derivatives like this:
It was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly _______
Another way the “Very Erotic, Very Erotic” phrase is used is through the form, “上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力，我赶紧 _______”
In English, this means, “Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up. It was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly _______”
Examples:
收藏型：上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力，我赶紧给添加到收藏夹了。
Collecting type: Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly added it to my favorites.
做贼心虚型：上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力，我赶紧关了门。
Guilty-conscience type: Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly closed the door.
无耻型: 上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力，我赶紧拉下了拉链。
Shameless type: Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly pulled down my zipper.
正义型: 上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力，我立即向网警、公安、安全局以及城管举报
Just type: Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly reported to the Internet police, public security, Security Service and City Administration.
圣人型：上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力，我立即闭上了眼睛。我发誓我没有看，如果看了，天厌之，天厌之。
Sage type: Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I quickly closed my eyes. I swear I did not see, and if I did read, may Heaven forget, Heaven forget.
悲哀型: 上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力,我哭了,我发现我阳萎了…….
Sad Type: Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I cried. I found I was impotent.
CCTV型：上次我上网查资料，突然弹出来一个网页，很黄很暴力,我赶紧让我的记者去找个13岁的学生，让她在镜头前说很黄很暴力… CCTV Type: Last time I was on the internet, a web page suddenly popped-up; it was very erotic, very violent, so I made my reporters find a 13-year-old student quickly, and say it was very erotic, very violent in front of the camera.
The incident garnered a lot of attention because of the rarity of violent and erotic sites in China, as well as the mystery surrounding the schoolgirl herself before the MOP thread was started.
The report was criticized by Chinese internet users for suggesting that the current internet filters in China were not tight enough already, and a general consensus (404’d) agreed that Zhang Shu would not have seen such an obscene advertisement unless she was looking for it intentionally. The original article is archived here.
However, the Chinese media downplayed the role that CCTV played in the “Very Erotic Very Violent” incident and instead criticized the internet for violating Zhang Shu’s privacy.
Her father supposedly spoke out on January 4, 2008:
“If necessary, I will use the law to protect the legitimate rights and interests of dignity! I hope this incident will disappear quietly and never come back. This is the request of a father who speaks from the heart. I think everyone should feel the responsibility of parents, who want to educate their children, and to properly guide them. Not a mean ‘dig’ or ‘jab’ for the sake of irony. Even if they violate our rights, tolerance should be maintained.”
What I am smoking is not cigarettes, IT IS LONELINESS
The Loneliness Party refers to a group of people on Chinese forums who openly express their loneliness. This is similar in theme to the Korean Solo Regiment meme.
The party arose as a result of an exploitable phrasal template, What X is Y’ing is not Z, It is Loneliness (Chinese: XY的不是Z，是寂寞; Pinyin: X Y de bù shì Z, shì jì mò) that became popular in the same year. It is used both humorously and seriously to a variety of situations.
Example:It is not air that I am breathing, IT IS LONELINESS.
Origin
“What X is Y’ing is not Z, It is Loneliness” comes from a low resolution picture from Baidu Tieba in July 2009:
What I am Eating is not Noodles, it is Loneliness!
(Chinese: 哥吃的不是面，是寂寞; Pinyin: Gē chī de bù shì miàn, shì jì mò)
One of the most popular variations of the phrase is: 哥抽的不是烟，是寂寞 (Pinyin: Gē chōu de bùshì yān shì jìmò), which means “What I am smoking is not cigarettes, it is loneliness.”
Eventually, the popularity of such phrases on big Chinese forums led to the Loneliness Party’s formation.
Usage in World of Warcraft, where players expressed their loneliness.
Usage in Chinese articles (as titles)
On November 2009, the Chinese version of Happy Farm had “It is not a kind of radish, it is loneliness” as a setting
Insights
In the following Google Insights chart: red is “What I am eating is not noodles, it is loneliness,”yellow is “X is not Y, it is loneliness,”green is “loneliness party,” and blue is “What I am smoking is not cigarettes, it is loneliness.”
The Loneliness Party (寂寞党)
“The Loneliness Party” (寂寞党), also known as “The Loneliness Religion” (寂寞教) (and sometimes translated to “Loneliness Tribe”), is the term used to describe people who use the “It is Loneliness” catchphrase.
With the popularity of the “It is Loneliness” catchphrase, many took the opposite side (calling themselves the Anti-Loneliness Party), telling others to have “self-respect.”
However, this actually increased the popularity of the phrase, with some ironically saying, “What the Anti-Loneliness Party gives is not self-respect, it is loneliness.”
X Addresses Congress is a series of YTMND sites showing exploitable cutouts of well-known characters and celebrities superimposed over a stock photograph of U.S. congressional address given sometime during the George W. Bush presidency, as former vice president Dick Cheney and majority leader Tom DeLay can be seen in the background of the image. The resulting images are accompanied by a soundbite featuring the speaker’s voice and audience reactions like boos and laughter. An example site can be seen here (this site has more than 16,000 views).
Origin
In 2005, the YTMND site “Chunk Addresses Congress” was created by user KingCrimson. However, the site was taken down later when KingCrimson’s account was deleted. Nevertheless, user BTape re-uploaded the site on January 7, 2007 and can be seen here.
The site’s main character, Chunk from the Goonies, was also the main feature of another popular YTMND fad, Chunk is Indestructible. Other characters from fads are used in many of the sites. The revived site has gathered more than 30,000 views.
Spread
The fad has become very popular, as shown by the fact that site results for “addresses congress” on YTMNDproduce 14 pages of sites. Popular examples include Willy Wonka Addresses Congress (one of the more popular sites, with 110,000 views) by cowpatch5, and Steve Carell Addresses Congress (nearly 16,000 views) by mmcxii. Many more of these YTMNDs were made since, with viewcounts ranging from 100 to 100,000. The peak time for the fad was from late 2005 through 2007.
The Spirit of Truth is a series of video clips taken from the Los Angeles area public access program “One Man Show,” which features the coarse religious rantings of a televangelist Reverend X. The program was originally filmed in the late 1990s, but taped episodes have begun to resurface on YouTube and Google Video in 2006.
Origin
One Man Show was a television show broadcast for approximately five years on Los Angeles public access during the late 1990s. A segment called “The Spirit of Truth” featured the self-proclaimed deity and foul mouthed evangelical preacher Don Vincent (credited as Vincent Stewart). The show was eventually canceled when Vincent dropped his pants on the air and requested that viewers “look for sin”.
Tapes of the show were recovered and episodes started to appear online in early 2006. YouTube comments suggest that the original uploads of the show have since been deleted. The earliest found upload is dated April 25th 2006 on Google Video by user victah. The current oldest iteration on YouTube was uploaded by user stinkendefakkinturk on May 13th 2006.
On May 14th 2007, YouTube user paramicium07 uploaded an extended version of the original uploaded episode followed by the same episode uploaded by stinkendefakkinturk and an additional eleven videos of other episodes and various clips over the following months. More clips as well as some older clips were uploaded to YouTube by user emacc32 on a sporadic basis starting in April 2007, one of the most notable being “The Healing Dance”:
Spread
During the initial spread of the videos, Vincent’s real identity was still a mystery. Many radio shows discussing the video referred to him as “Reverend X”. Vincent’s identity was revealed on July 27th 2006 when he made a call in appearance to The Howard Stern Show.
He was later played on the Florida-based radio show “The Hideout” on April 4th 2006. The broadcast date supports evidence found on YouTube that the original upload may have been deleted. Radio stations in Detroit, Dallas, and naturally Los Angeles have also played sound bytes on air.
Vincent is also slated to appear on season two of Tosh.O for the weekly Web Redemption segment but a broadcast date of the episode was not been listed in the press release.
ReverendX.org is an entire website dedicated to The Spirit of Truth, and contains an archive of all the videos.
Derivatives
Vincent has spawned a series of animated GIFs and image macros featuring some of his more famous quotes from the show, dance moves, or other hilarity.
Both spikes in search traffic correlate with the first set of episode uploads but quickly die out. Traffic from aggregation sites like EBaum’s World and remixed content from YTMND also contributed to searches.
Senkōsha (先行者) is a classic Japanese meme (and to a lesser extent, Taiwanese meme) involving parody of China’s first bipedal humanoid robot, Xianxingzhe (先行者). It is said that the robot will singlehandedly save its nation from corporate capitalism using its crotch cannon (Japanese: 中華キャノン, Chūka Kyanon, lit. Chinese Cannon).
Source : Xianxingzhe (先行者)
Completed on November 29, 2000 by the Chinese National University of Defense Technology, the bipedal robot was seen as a significant advance for Chinese robotics. It was named Xianxingzhe, meaning “forerunner” in English.
Features:
Stood 140 centimeters tall (4’7")
Weighed 20 kg (44.1 lb)
Speeds of anywhere from 2 steps per second to 1 step per 6 seconds
Ability to understand very basic language commands (like saying 你好/“NǐHǎo”)
Rotation of joints
Ability to wink
Remote control by Fiber Optics
And with this robot, Chinese news outlets announced that China had joined the ranks of other developed countries in their robotics technology.
Origin : Samurai Damasii Parodies
Due to the primitive nature of Xianxingzhe and its somewhat unappealing design, Japanese websites were quick to satirize Chinese enthusiasm over the robot. In Japan, it is called Senkōsha because that is the Japanese pronunciation of 先行者 (Xianxingzhe).
On March 3, 2001, Samurai Damasii (侍魂) posted a page ridiculing Senkōsha as being “the crystallization of China’s four thousand years of scientific knowledge,” China’s “trump card,” and the “forerunner” of robot technology:
Following the popularity of the first site, Samurai Damasii created a second page on March 15, 2001, “revealing” that Senkōsha was actually a lethal military weapon.
According to Samurai Damasii, here is how Senkōsha’s uses its weapon:
First Senkōsha shakes its body to stir up energy in the ground.
Then it does squats to harness the Earth’s energy until its energy charge is “120% complete.”
CROTCHCANNON!!!!
Because of the catastrophic destruction that Senkōsha could potentially unleash, the author expressed his concerns about the future of world peace and Senkōsha’s ability to make people die laughing.
Soon, Samurai Damasii started receiving more 10,000 pageviews per day, with a peak of 200,000 pageviews on one day. The total viewcount is about 80 million.
Spread in Japan
Shift-JIS Arts
Because 2channel was not as popular in 2001 as it is now, it wasn’t a huge contributor to the Senkōsha phenomenon. However, there are some Shift-JIS arts on 2channel.
Senkōsha Games
先行者ゲーム(Senkōsha Games)
Following Samurai Damasii’s success, the Silchov Brothers (シルチョフ兄弟社) created the doujin, “Senkōsha Games” in March 2001.
(CD-rom versions are also sold that have additional features)
Gameplay:
In these games, you control Senkōsha, battling evil robots (with an obvious resemblance to Japanese robots). You are to destroy as many enemies as possible until you are finally destroyed.
The games diverge a bit from Samurai Damasii’s description of Senkōsha; now you are equipped with: the Chinese Drill, the Chinese Chop, a Gatling gun (in the cannon), a self-destruct button, a jet pack, and can receive power-ups.
Plot:
The plot of Senkousha Game 1 follows the fictitious “Asia One Year Conflict” (アジア一年紛争). In 2003, the nation of Japan declared bankruptcy. This led to a crash in the Asian economy. To ensure their survival, the Asian corporate giants underwent a series of M&A, forming conglomerates with various militaries of Asian countries. These companies later developed Robot Army (RA) units for military uses. Because of the chaos, terrorism and territorial disputes were frequent. On the surface they are only minor regional conflicts, but in reality they are corporate wars between the enterprises of different nations. In the end, it was said that it wasn’t American intervention or nuclear bombs that ended the war, it was a new Communist robot and an Ace pilot that did.
The plot of Senkousha Game 2 takes place ten years after the events of Senkousha Game 1, and follows the “Kawamura Rebellion” (川村の反乱). After the Asia One Year Conflict, the RA Treaty was signed to abolish the development and use of RA weapons, and their programmers were prosecuted. But on 20 July 2013, during an end-of-war memorial parade in Tiananmen Square, an unknown armed RA unit opened fire on the parade. Following this violation of the RA Treaty, the sealed Senkousha emerges from its hangar to fight once again.
The Silchov Brothers also tried creating 3D online shooting game of Senkōsha. However, they never finished producing the game. Later, It was recreated and released by HyperOctagonStation in 2005.
Parallel Worlds (Battlefield 1942 MOD)
The “Parallel Worlds” modification for Battlefield 1942 features Senkōsha as an operable vehicle, complete with its crotch cannon.
Song & Music
Senkōsha the King of China (中華王 先行者, ChūkaOh Senkōsha )
In May 2001, ZATU, a college student and an amateur musician composed the song, “Senkōsha the King of China” (中華王 先行者, ChūkaOh Senkōsha ). The corresponding movie was completed on Oct 1, 2001:
The song has two lyrical variations. The “normal” version praises Senkōsha as “the people’s pride.” In contrast, the alternative version insults him as “knicks and knacks.”
Nosferatu (のすふぇらとぅ), a very famous amateur animator among Japanese internet users since 1999, created a Senkōsha GIF animation entitled, “For the country” in September of 2001. In the anime, Senkōsha is shown beating up the Honda ASIMO.
A Cell-phone strap of Senkōsha was imported from China and sold by several Japanese import shops in the summer of 2001.
Reception in Japan
Combot
Combot, a character in Tekken 4 produced by NAMCO in 2001, is an homage to and a parody of Senkōsha. In this interview (Google Translation), the designers said that Combot’s design was inspired by Senkōsha because they were fans of Samurai Damashii. Combot has the sign “戦闘者” (Sentousya, lit. combat) on his back.
The addition of Combot may have been influenced by Ken’s (webmaster of Samurai Damashii) love of the Tekken series.
Plastic models
In May 2002, a plastic model of Senkōsha was released by Netrunner, a Japanese magaizine well known for responding quickly to internet phenomena.
However, the title written on the package was not “Senkōsha” but rather, “Chūka Kyanon” to avoid any trademark-related claim by China.
In the 1st and 3rd episode of Negima!?, Senkōsha appears briefly as a computer peripheral and as one of Negi Springfield’s pactio cards.
Episode 1
Episode3
INUKAMI! (2006)
A robot named Xanthippe(クサンチッペ), with a strong resemblance to Senkōsha, appeared on INUKAMI! in episode 17 and 18. Of course, his crotch has a huge drill.
Senkōsha also made many appearances in various comics and magazines.
Imidas
The 2002 edition of “IMIDAS” (Jōhō Chishiki Imidas), a historic dictionary of Japanese modern terms, included Senkōsha and described the internet phenomenon surrounding the robot.
ROBO-ONE
ROBO-ONE , the robot competition category of bipedal humanoid robots in Japan, invited the developers of Senkōsha to their first contest on Mar 2002, to many other entrants’ excitement. (Google Translation)
There was also an attempt to take bring the original Xianxingzhe from China. In the end, however, the proposal was rejected because the technology of Senkōsha was a protected secret of China.
Other Japanese Videos / Crossovers
The Senkōsha phenomenon eventually died out around 2004; today, many young Japanese internet users have never heard of the robot. Despite this, Senkōsha still occasionally makes appearances in other internet memes and videos.
The Senkōsha phenomenon was well-received in Taiwan as well, especially among the Taiwanese Kuso community. However, their interest picked up in late 2007.
Although Taiwanese websites did not contribute many images, videos, or music to the Senkōsha phenomenon, they were largely amused by it and saw Senkōsha as a classic Kuso subject.
Reaction in China
The internet phenomenon surrounding Senkōsha was largely ignored in China.
A very stoic response to the Japanese parodies can be seen here (Web Archive).
On June 2006, Verdot created a cartoon man on MS Paint and afterward posted it on 4chan’s /b/ board.
After making some other variations of his own (such as one that references the FGSFDS meme), other Anonymous people started joining in on creating shopped images of the cartoon figure. When multiple users began creating their own, it was safe to call this a meme.
Spread
Over 800 pages on DeviantArt make mention of Optimized GIF Dude, as do a handful of 4chan archive threads. Optimized GIF Dude’s popularity elsewhere remains to be seen.
On 4chanarchive
WARNING: 4chanarchive threads are NSFW.
January 26th, 2007: 19647598 is an image dump of Optimized Gif Dude images..
September 8th, 2007: 5907141 also features an Optimized Gif Dude appearance.
Further mentions of Optimized Gif Dude on 4chanarchive available here.
Derivatives Compiled by Verdot (Some NSFW)
As progenitor of the meme, Verdot has painstakingly compiled a large collection of those created by other DA Deviants.
WARNING: This entry contains content that may be offensive to some viewers.
About
A trailer for a film called “The Human Centipede (First sequence)” was released in September of 2009. The film is about a deranged doctor who connects three people anus to mouth to create a “human centipede”.
The trailer was disturbing enough by itself to spread wildly across the Internet. Several parodies have been created including a flash game. A sequel is being made at the moment called “The Human Centipede (The Full Sequence)” which will have a total of twelve people.
Search
“Human centipede” starting receiving search traffic around the same time the trailer posted in September of 2009. It peaked in May of 2010 when it received a wider US release.
Spread
Human Centipede trailer posted on BuzzFeed. (9/3/2009)
In July of 2010, the Oregon Tea Party co-opted the Anonymous slogan: We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.
The phrase appeared on protest signs1 and bumper stickers2, and at one point as the official description on the Tea Party Patriots website.3
Facebook Raid
By trying to use Anonymous “brand” (for lack of a better word) the Oregon Tea Party evoked the wrath of Anonymous, resulting in a DESU-spamming raid on the Oregon Tea Party Facebook Page.
In response, the Facebook page went invite-only, and posted a message stating the following:
Anonymous: we appreciate your resources and admire your tactics. You have taught us more than you know. As you requested, we are no longer using the Anonymous quote.4
Sturgeon Face is a participatory photo meme that involves turning down one’s corners of mouth so that it forms an excessive frown. This is not to be confused with Trout Pout.
Origin
On May 27, 2007, a single-serving site known as sturgeonface.com was created by a person only known by the alias “guy” from the email address listed on the bottom of the site page. Its sole purpose was to be a compilation of several pictures of individuals, animals, and other miscellaneous things frowning quite extensively. The name of the site dubbed the facial expression: “Sturgeon Face”.
After its appearance on that site, it exploded into popularity and started getting referenced in other blogs and websites such as The Chive, The Daily Dish, The Presurfer, UKCS, J-Walk Blog, etc. all in the same year.
Though the frown is called Sturgeon Face and based off the fish, a sturgeon’s face, as shown below, doesn’t exactly resemble anything close to a frown.
Pictured below is what an actual sturgeon’s mouth looks like:
Note: This entry contains some language and inappropriate themes; viewer discretion recommended.
About
Dysfunctional Family Circus is a series of exploitable macros based on the syndicated comic strip The Family Circus, a long-running daily cartoon centered around the everyday life of an All-American Christian family. While parodies of the original comic were self-published as early as in the late 1980s, they gained much of its online popularity in the mid 1990s through fan-created single topic blogs.
Origin
The Family Circus
Created and written by American cartoonist Bil Keane, The Family Circus debuted On February 28th, 1960 and has been in continuous production and publication ever since. Having appeared in 1,500 newspapers over the past four decades, it is considered one of the most widely syndicated cartoon panel in the world. For more examples of the original strips, check out the official website.
Early Parodies
Anonymous artists and fans of Family Circus have been making parodies of the original comic since as early as in 1989. These parodies consisted of imitative illustrations and altered captions, ofen discussing adult-only topics and serious vices like adultery, drug abuse, animal cruelty and cannibalism.
Dysfunctional Family Circus (DFC)
Brian Boling has been cited by Stay Free! magazine as one of the earliest known editors of DFC comic zines, who published his compilation of artworks as a booklet titled “Dysfunctional Family Circus” in 1992:
Brian Boling et al.
“Dysfunctional Family Circus”
Cut-and-paste zine, circa 1992
For Christmas one year, Boling doctored 100 of Bill Keane’s Family Circus panels, compiled them into a zine—“Dysfunctional Family Circus”—and gave copies to high school friends. Little did he know that he had tapped into the zeitgeist. A zine with the same title had made its debut a decade earlier. And in the mid-1990s, a man began posting Bill Keane panels online and asking web users to submit their own captions.
Spread
According to unconfirmed details on AllExperts page, acquiring a copy of the parody zines was a rather difficult task in the age of snail mail. The booklets were allegedly distributed through anonymous networks of chain mails, nightclubs or coffee houses in America/Europe, while the few internet-savvy folks managed to obtain their copies by making requests via facsimiles and Usenet.
This parody phenomenon eventually found its way to the Internet through a number of incarnations in the 1990s. The first wave of iterations emerged across the web circa 1994, but the most recognized instances of Dysfunctional Family Circus strips were hosted on SpinnWebe, a gallery site created by Greg Galcik in 1995. In similar vein to Single Topic Blogs, SpinnWebe offered an automatic caption generator for the visitors to submit their own iterations, the best of which were selected by Galick and a number of editors for front-page publication.
Thematically, the tones of the captions were similar to the original parodies but users also added jokes about breaking the fourth wall, in the process criticizing the artistic work of Bil Keane.
Copyright Infringement
In September 1999, Galcik received a cease-and-desist notice from King Features Syndicate, the publishers of The Family Circus, on account of copyright violations. Fans of the website did not receive the news well and many viewers followed up with bold statements in protest.
However, following a phone conversation between Galcik and the then 77-year-old Keane, Galcik voluntarily decided to take down the website following the publication of 500th strip in November 1999. Galcik stated that the reasoning for this decision was out of respect for Keane after personally hearing his displeasure over some of the posted captions.
Derivatives
On September 27th 2006, Losanjealous created The Nietzsche Family Circus, a comic generator application that randomly pairs up Keane’s illustrations with aphorisms written by the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, most renowned for his critical evaluation of Christian values:
On December 19th, 2007, another site Driven by Boredom began hosting Dysfunctional Family Circus images.
Archives & Resources
Some active archives and further examples can be found here:
“Bitch I Look Like Goku” is an exploitable catchphrase and lyrical reference to Soulja Boy’s 2010 hip hop single “Goku,” a musical tribute to the protagonist character in the popular Japanese manga / anime series Dragon Ball Z.
Origin
Written and performed by Soulja Boy, the song “Goku” was released via his Twitter account on July 23rd, 2010. The unofficial single contained several references to characters portrayed in the DBZ series:
- Bitch I look like Goku (repeated many times)
- Bitch I look like Gohan, smokin’ up that Marijuana
- Super Saiyan Swagger
- I don’t give a fuck because I’m swaggin’ to the maximum
Spread
The story of Soulja Boy’s release was soon reported by Geekosystem on the same day. The article link spread quickly throughout other DBZ-related discussion forums, most notably on DaizenshuuEX forum where users began poking fun at his song by superimposing the lyrics to screenshots and video clips from Dragon Ball, as well as photoshopping pictures of Soulja Boy with a Super Saiyan hairdo.
Inception meme refers to a wide range of captioned images, multi-pane and videos based on the 2010 sci-fi action film Inception. The meme often plays on the recurring themes and motifs found within the film, such as science fictional concepts of extracting from and implanting information within a subject’s mind, as well as general experience of lucid dreaming and recursive dreaming, also known as false awakening.
Origin
The Film
Inception is a 2010 sci-fi action film written / directed by Christopher Nolan and features an ensemble cast starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. In the film, DiCaprio plays a specialized corporate spy (Dom) whose job is to extract information from the unconscious mind of his targets while they are asleep. Haunted by the loss of his family, Cobb is given a chance to return to his old life in exchange for the task of “inception,” the planting of an idea into a target’s subconscious.
Viral Marketing Campaign
In spring of 2010, a viral marketing campaign was launched to advertise the upcoming release of Inception. Among the promotional materials sent out to various companies were a manual filled with bizarre images and text, posters, ad copies, smartphone applications and esoteric websites like PASIV Device Instruction Manual, What Is Dream Share? and Mind Crime. According to LA Times article, Warner Brothers spent a grand marketing budget of $100 million in preparation for the film’s release.
Reception
Upon release in July 2010, the film received highly positive reviews and box office sales, debuting at #1 with $62.7 million gross revenue in its opening weekend. Given the common grounds shared by the film’s meta premise and internets’ fondness for recursive jokes (see: Xzibit / Yo Dawg), audience’s response to Inception quickly amounted to a spectacle of its own, spawning parodies in conjunction with other well-known memes and viral media. One of the earliest notable threads was posted on NolanFans.com, dating back to July 20th, 2010.
Spread
At its peak around July & August, 2010, Google search queries for “Inception” weighed heavier in comparison to Jesus, Obama, iPad and Justin Bieber.
Throughout July and August, image macros and videos about the film continued to expand across a number of influential hubsites and internet blogs, including TumblrRedditBuzzfeed, Geekosystem and more.
Trailer Mashup Videos
The very first wave of user-generated response videos relating to the film began with Inception Trailer Mashups in May 2010, shortly after the film’s official trailer was revealed via YouTube on May 11th, 2011.
Among the first to grab the audiences’ attention was the epic trailer score “Mind Heist” by Zack Hemsey as well as the film’s soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, who also composed the score for Batman Begins and The Dark Night prior to this project. In similar style of the YouTube series Recut Movie Trailers and Guile Theme Goes with Everything, YouTubers began uploading mash-up videos featuring edited footage from various movie trailers and the Inception soundtrack.
Inception Multipanes: Must Dig Deeper
One of the early multi-pane fads illustrates a mock conversation between Cobb (played by DiCaprio) and rapper Xzibit, playing on the theme of recursion embodied by both characters. The dialogue typically begins with Xzibit’s recursive catchphrase, “Yo Dawg I herd you like X,” to which Dom replies “we must dig deeper” and ends with blank stares from both.
Extractors Gonna Extract
The Inception meme also had a successful hybrid with Haters Gonna Hate macros, combining a paparazzi photo of Leonard DiCaprio walking on the film set and a caption that reads Extractors Gonna Extract.
Strutting Leo
In August 2010, an exploitable trend known as Strutting Leo emerged on Tumblr, Reddit and other sites, based on yet another photo of Dicaprio striding down the film set with a smile on his face. Similar to Disaster Girl and other exploitable memes, Dicaprio is usually shopped into background of historically significant photographs, such as Abbey Road and Moon Landing.
Inception Cat
In September 2010, a video titled Inception Cat made its debut on YouTube, showing homemade footage of a cat raising its head and staring intensely at the camera, while the Inception soundtrack is heard playing in the background. Within its first month of upload, the video gained over 2,300,000 views.
