About
“I hope you step on a LEGO” is a phrase often used as a retort in rage comics and reaction images to express one’s resentment towards someone who has done something unpleasant as to deserve punishment or ill-fortune, such as accidentally stepping on a LEGO brick.
Origin
The humorous association of stepping on a small lego brick in barefoot with severe pain began as early as in 2007 with various parenting blog posts and discussions, as mentioned in I am Mama[4], Frugal Village[17], Huffington Post[1] and Yahoo Voice articles.[18] It has been also reported as a commonly shared experience among parents with children or in childhood memories, according to various Yahoo Answer threads.[6] The earliest known iteration of the phrase in rage comics can be found in a FFFFFUUUUUUUU rage comic posted via 4chan sometime in late 2009.
Spread
Its colloquial usage in the comments section of blog articles, videos and image posts became noticeable in 2011, after a screenshot of the phrase was posted by Tumblr blogger suriikufu[2] on February 6th, 2011, receiving more than 60,000 notes. That same day, a Facebook[3] fan page titled “I Hope You Step on a LEGO Brick, Barefoot” was launched, which has accumulated over 44,000 likes as of July 2012.
Throughout the latter half of 2011, a colorful variety of image macros, reaction images and tribute artworks featuring the phrase surfaced on Tumblr[5] under the tag “I hope you step on a lego.”
In Rage Comics
The phrase also became closely associated with various rage comics as a reaction image conveying bitter resentment towards another character(s) portrayed in the same comic, examples of which can be found on a wide range of websites and image-sharing communities, from rage comic specialty blogs like Best Rage Comics[13], RageGenerator[14] and RageStache[15] to general internet humor sites Memebase[10], FunnyJunk[11] and 9gag.[12]
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Huffington Post – LEGO Mania: 5 Ways to Prevent the Pain of Stepping on a LEGO Brick
[3] Facebook – I hope you step on a lego brick, barefoot.
[4] I am Mama – Mystery Attacker and Stuff
[5] Tumblr – Tagged Results for I Hope You Step on a LEGO
[6] Yahoo Answers – Search Results for Step on a Lego
[7] Urban Dictionary – Step on a LEGO
[8] RageComics – Step on a LEGO
[9] Reddit – What’s the worst insult you can think of that is perfectly appropriate for a Kindergartner?
[10] Memebase – And I Hope It Gets Stuck on Your Foot
[11] FunnyJunk – Search Results for I Hope You Step on a LEGO
[12] 9gag – Search Results for Step on a LEGO
[13] Best Rage Comics – Never Step on a Lego
[14] Rage Generator – Step on a LEGO
[15] RageStache – Step on a LEGO
[16] TreeHugger – Plastic Heal Thyself: Materials Mimic Vascular Networks
[17] Yahoo Voices – The Stay at Home Mom’s Survival Guide for Cranky Days
[18] Frugal Village – Real moms step on Legos