Use the main My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic entry for image or video uploads

About

Princess Celestia is one of the supporting characters of the Hasbro animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She is depicted as a pale white alicorn with a sun cutie mark and a motherly personality.

Origin and Character

Celestia was introduced in the first episode of MLP, premiering October 2010, as the ruler of Equestria, the primary setting of the show. She becomes co-ruler in the second episode when her sister, Princess Luna, returns. Initially depicted as Twilight Sparkle’s official teacher, Celestia remains her mentor after Twilight becomes a princess in the season three finale.^[1]

She is voiced by Nicole Oliver.^[7]

Spread

Many videos of scenes featuring Celestia from MLP have been uploaded to Youtube, a few of which (examples below) have garnered several million views.

Princess Celestia’s page on the MLP wiki was created on December 26th, 2010.^[2] As of July 2015, her wiki page has been edited over 2000 times; searching for “Celestia” on DeviantArt returns over 140,000 results,^[3] while Derpibooru hosts over 40,000 images relating to her.^[4]

Related Memes

Molestia

Molestia is the most popular fandom-driven alternate version of Celestia, depicting her as depraved and sexually aggressive towards other characters from the show. The concept has been supported by several fan projects, the most prolific of which was the “Ask Princess Molestia”^[6] Tumblr blog.

Swanlestia

Swanlestia is the fandom-given name of a pony re-imagining of Princess Celestia, which parodies her resemblance to a white swan, often by depicting her without legs.^[5]

Search Interest

External References

Dried Cow Fetus is a meme apparently created and first introduced by the reddit user /u/ClamCrackingClown. The first ever mention of the meme was in this comment by the user: https://www.reddit.com/r/4chan/comments/2yutpb/that_diddly_feeler9kino/cpdjr8l

Whereas the original Dried Cow Fetus image was first posted in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/4chan/comments/2z16qy/anon_the_creator_of_tards/cperi02

(Image link: http://i.imgur.com/8vXbGQL.png)

The meme received mild recognition shortly after its creation, gaining a measly 39 upvotes on the reddit debut of the cow fetus image.

/u/ClamCrackingClown mentions the Dried Cow Fetus several times, one of the most notable being here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/4chan/comments/2yxxqj/anon_perfectly_describes_an_image/cpe3v9s

The meme was not always well received in its early days:

https://www.reddit.com/r/4chan/comments/2z0ayg/mutants_making_fun_of_fan_bases/cpeqtiq

The Dried Cow Fetus meme has appeared on 4chan.org multiple times:

http://i.imgur.com/4GbFrla.png

http://i.imgur.com/zFVP736.png (the original Dried Cow Fetus edited with a Pepe head)

http://imgur.com/gallery/31KWAJr (high res of above)

http://i.imgur.com/6evVNFa.png

http://i.imgur.com/k6B0PIl.png (high resolution of the image included in the above post)

Though the original creator of the meme appears to be inactive on reddit (he/she recently published another Dried Cow Fetus image on imgur), other users have tried to keep the meme alive:

https://www.reddit.com/r/4chan/comments/31v76x/anon_summarises_the_world/cq5dnhh

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/2z1at7/a_28_day_old_cow_fetus_within_its_fetal_membranes/cpeyfso

(I just got these from Google – there are many others).

About

Drought Shaming, also known by its hashtag #Droughtshaming, is the act of publicly denouncing someone for not conserving water properly during a drought, most often by Tweeting or Instagramming a photo combined with the hashtag. The practice became popular during the California drought, which officially began in 2011 and continued through July 2015.

Origin

After 2013, the driest recorded year in California’s history, the state began introducing marketing to educate people to stop consuming as much water. The marketing encouraged California’s residents to stop watering lawns, filling pools, and other wasteful activities, and instituted a $500 fine for those who were caught doing so.^[1] Some cities instituted a hotline so that neighbors could begin calling in to report their neighbors’ water usage and the practice proved effective; after this hotline was created in Sacramento, CA, water use declined by 17%.^[2]

It’s unclear where the first use of the hashtag #droughtshaming comes from, but consistent use of the term on social media began in mid-June, 2014; the practice began even earlier. On July 4th, 2014, the New York Times recorded instances of drought shaming that dated back to April of that year.^[3]

Spread

In Mid-July 2015, neighborhood-watch app VizSafe added a drought section to their feed types, allowing people who saw water overuse to report it directly to their feeds; it also funneled posts using the tag #droughtshaming into officials who monitored the feeds.^[4][5] In the span between mid-June 2014 to mid-July 2014, Twitter users used the hashtag around 550 times.^[4]

In 2015, California still had not recovered from drought, and restrictions to homeowners became mandatory in May 2015, increasing instances of drought shaming. The hashtag’s use increased in frequency to over 1,000 instances on Twitter per day before returning to low levels in June.^[6] On Instagram, the hashtag has been used over 800 times as of July 2015.^[8]

On YouTube, California residents began recording drought shaming videos; one account, run by watchdog Tony Corcoran who also runs droughtshaming.net, recorded 64 different drought shaming videos around the Los Angeles area, some of which have received over 1000 views. He has been criticized, however, for posting the exact addresses at which he films.^[7]

Tom Selleck and other Celebrity Drought Shames

On July 9th, 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that actor Tom Selleck had reached a settlement with the Calleguas Municipal Water District, who had accused the actor and star of the photoshop trend Tom Selleck Waterfall Sandwich of stealing water by pumping it out of fire hydrants in the county and then transporting it to his 60-acre estate.^[9]

This incident reflected some opinions from earlier in the year, when many accused California’s rich of being the main over-users of water, and proposed that drought shaming was a kind of class warfare. Gizmodo claimed that incidences of the wealthy being drought-shamed, like in this comprehensively photographed article of celebrity estates in Page Six,^[10] was “shoving another of California’s problems--vast income inequality--into an uncomfortable spotlight.”^[11] Celebrities who were actively drought shamed include Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Barbara Streisand, Julia Roberts, and Jennifer Aniston.

Notable Examples

Search Interest

External References

About

Goku vs. Superman is an online fan-debate between fans of the DC Comics superhero Superman, and those of Dragon Ball protagonist Goku. The popularity of the debate is fueled by the fact that both characters are among the most powerful in their respective universes, and are even cited as being among the most powerful characters in fictional history.

Origin

The exact origin of the debate is unknown, but it is likely that it originated around the time that Dragon Ball Z was airing on Toonami in the United States. The earliest known example of the fight being used as the basis for a discussion online was on the Newgrounds forums in a thread titled “Goku VS Superman” created on January 23, 2003. ^[1]

That same year DeviantArt user mistermoster uploaded a colored version of an image drawn by fellow user chachaman (shown below). Mistermoster later began a webcomic series based around a fight between Goku and Superman. ^[2]

Spread

On June 28, 2006 YouTuber harsh29 uploaded a video depicting a fight between Goku and Superman within the 2D freeware fighting game Mugen (shown below, left). On August 3, 2009 YouTuber Vegito1089 uploaded a video depicting a fight between Goku and Superman using cropped clips from various episodes of Dragon Ball as well as the Justice League animated series (shown below, right). Due to the outcome of the fight many viewers, presumably Dragon Ball fans, disliked the video and left negative comments in the video’s comment section. As of July 2015, the video has over 4 million views, nearly 30,000 comments, and a 3:1 dislike-to-like ratio. Along with these, there have been various other fan-made fights, numbering around 127,000 results on YouTube. ^[3]

On May 19, 2014 YouTuber ERB uploaded a video titled “Goku vs Superman. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 3.” as a part of their Epic Rap Battles of History series with Ray William Johnson portraying Goku (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has over 54 million views.

Death Battle

On January 9, 2013 YouTube based entertainment company ScrewAttack in collaboration with various other individuals and groups, including Team Four Star, uploaded a video titled “Goku VS Superman | DEATHBATTLE! | ScrewAttack!” as a part of their Death Battle series (shown below, left). In the video the two hosts of the series analyze both Goku and Superman’s abilities in order to determine who would win in a fight between the two. Around two years after the original video, ScrewAttack announced at the end of their “Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom” video that a rematch between Goku and Superman would be released at SGC 2015. A trailer was later released on July 8, 2015 (shown below, right).

At the end of the fight Superman emerged as the victor, leading many Dragon Ball fans, as well as others, to post their reactions and counter-arguments (shown below).

Search Interest

External References

About

Prison School is a Japanese manga and anime series first written by mangaka Akira Hiramoto and later adapted by studio J.C. Staff. The series garnered popularity online, especially on 4chan’s /a/ Anime and Manga board, due to the series’ comedic and ecchi nature.

Premise

The series follows the lives of 5 boys, Kiyoshi, Takehito, Shingo, Jouji and Reiji, the only boys accepted into the once prestigious all girls boarding school Hachimitsu Academy. After getting caught trying to spy on a group of bathing girls, the boys are forced to enter the school’s underground prison, run by the underground student council, as punishment for their crimes.

History

The series first began as a manga written by Akira Hiramoto and published by Kondasha in their Weekly Young Magazine starting on February 7, 2011. Since then, the series is still ongoing, being compiled into 17 volumes as of July 2015. An anime adaptation animated by Studio J.C. Staff, also known for their work on series such as Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls in A Dungeon?, A Certain Magical Index an Azumanga Daioh, also began production, with it’s first episode airing on July 10, 2015, before running for 12 episodes.

Online Relevance

In North America, the Prison School anime is licensed by Funimation, and is available for streaming on both their website^[1] and Crunchyroll[32. The series has gained a large online following on many sites, including on Tumblr^[3], Reddit^[4], 4chan’s /a/ (Anime and Manga) board^[5] and My Anime List^[6]. There are numerous sites that provide episodic information about the series, such as the Prison School wiki^[7], which has over 200 pages, TV Tropes^[8] and Anime News Network^[9]. In addition, the Prison School Facebook page also has over 2,000 likes^[10].

Fandom

The Prison School series has spawned a significant online fanbase since it’s creation, which has created much fanart and fanfiction. On the Japanese fanart site Pixiv, there are over 350 images tagged under “監獄学園”^[11], as well as over 40 videos on the video sharing website Nico Nico Douga^[12]. On DeviantART, there are also over 140 images tagged related to the series^[13].

Search Interest

External References

About

THEBABY is a catchphrase referering to the Metroid larva that appears on various instaments of the video game series Metroid, mostly on Super Metroid and Metroid: Other M. Online, the catchphrase has been used by the Metroid: Other M detractors to poke fun at its repeated use on the game by Samus Aran and the overal weak personality of her, normally in spam and shitpost form.

Origin

Metroid: Other M was officialy released on August 31st, 2010 on North America, and three days after on Japan and Australia. In the game, setted after Super Metroid, the bounty hunter Samus Aran investigates a derelict space station along with a Galactic Federation platoon, which includes her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich. Though the game had positive reviews from critics and mixed reactions from the fans, the game script and dialogue was one of the most criticised aspects from it, especially Samus personality, which was seen as submissive and weak in contrast to the personality from other series instaments. A memorable part of the game regarding this aspect is the opening cutscene, where she mentions “the baby” (the metroid larva) various times.

Spread

On May 14th, 2011, a post on a 4chan’s mecha board /m/ discussing a battle between Birdy and Samus mentioned “the baby the baby the baby” at the begining of its post, saying that it wasn’t her mobile on Other M.^[2] On July 19th, 2012, a GameFAQs thread asking how many times was “the baby” line mentioned in the game was submitted.^[3] On August 6th, 2012 youtuber Michael McGlade uploaded a video titled “Metroid Other M : THEBABIES”, featuring a supercut of all the moments Samus mentions “the baby” on the opening cutscene. The video obtained over 18,000 in less than 3 years. The catchphrase also has been used as a spam practise on Metroid threads on 4chan’s videogame board /v/ and videogames general /vg/, mostly on the ones that mention Other M.^[1]

Search Interest

External References

About

Japan vs. USA Robot Challenge refers to an event, set to happen sometime in 2016, when the robot manufacturers Megabot USA and Kuratas Suidobashi will have a battle for the giant mecha robots they have developed. This battle is the first of its kind in history, but has been predestined by many similar situations in science fiction and gaming.

History

In 2012, Kuratas Suidobashi unveiled the first Kuratas robot, billed as “The World’s First Boarding Robot.” The robot was big enough for a man to sit inside and operate it from within, just as in the traditional mecha format. It was operated off of the XBox Kinect user interface, and while it couldn’t walk, it could drive on three wheels at about ten kilometers per hour. It could be armed with a series of cannons made for shooting fireworks or water bottles, and retailed for US $1,353,500.^[1][5]

In 2014, the company Megabots, Inc, created a Kickstarter campaign to raise $1.8 million dollars to fund them to create their own mecha design. While they had only a prototype turret developed, they claimed that their goal was to create two robots that would then battle in an arena they were designing, and that their overall intent was to someday form a sporting league for mecha battle. ^[2]

They did not reach their funding goal via Kickstarter, eventually only earning $65,000 of the $1.8 million needed. In an update for their backers, the Megabots staff wrote that they believed their failure was due to trying to fund too early, before they had a fully completed working prototype of the first walking robot. However, they did show a prototype, which used caterpillar track-type tread to move around, during the campaign.^[3]

Notable Developments

On June 30th, 2015, Megabots USA released a video challenge to Suidobashi, saying that “we have a giant robot, and you have a giant robot,” and that it was time for them to fight.^[4]

Kuratas released a video in response on July 5th, 2015, accepting the challenge, but saying that the guns were “so American.” They challenged Megabots to come with something a little “cooler” for their final competing robot.

As of July 10th, the battle is scheduled for some time in 2016, at a location to be determined.

Online Presence

Both Kuratas and Megabots already have substantial followings on social media, each having made past YouTube videos that have received hundreds of thousands of views. However, for each brand, the robot challenge videos were their largest ever. As of July 11th, the Megabots challenge video had received 4,755,757 views since its uploading, and the Kuratas response 3,508,238 views in the same time period.

Search Interest

not yet available

External References

About

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (Abbreviated as “MCU”) is a series of films produced by Marvel Studios and under the direction of The Walt Disney Company since 2012’s The Avengers. The films light-hearted feel, being in contrast to DC Comic’s movies such as The Dark Knight and Man of Steel, has generated an immensely large fan-base, both online as well as offline.

History

Plans for a shared cinema series using Marvel Comics characters were initially conceived back in 2005 by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. ^[1] The first film in the franchise Iron Man was released on May 2, 2008. The main film line-up has been set to continue through 2019, ending with Inhumans on July 2, 2019. With the success of The Avengers in 2012 Marvel decided to create a TV series, which eventually became Agents of Shield. ^[2] In 2014 he company pushed into less traditional forms of media by airiing their new series exclusively on Netflix starting with Daredevil and a plan for several series, all of which will culminate in The Defenders which does not have a release date at this time. ^[3]

Films

Television Series

Online Relevance

On Tumblr various posts can be found about the franchise tagged under both “mcu” ^[4] as well as “marvel cinematic universe”. ^[5] There are also Tumblr blogs dedicated to the MCU, such as The MCU Report, ^[6] Daily MCU, ^[7] Women of MCU, ^[8] as well as many others. ^[9][10] On Reddit the largest subreddit dedicated to the MCU has over 43,000 readers. ^[11]

On YouTube there are around 87,500 results for “marvel cinematic universe”. ^[12] The most viewed video based around the MCU was uploaded by channel Inside the Magic on October 29, 2014 (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has over 5 million views.

On June 20, 2014, YouTube based entertainment company Watch Mojo uploaded a video entitled “Top 10 Marvel Cinematic Universe Easter Eggs” in which the announcer gives a run down of the company’s favorite Easter eggs scattered throughout the MCU (shown below).

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki

Tom Hiddleston’s LokiTom Hiddleston’s Loki refers to actor Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of the villain Loki in the films Thor, The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World. The character received In April of 2012, a Quickmeme ^[17] page titled “Loki” was created, which features photographs of Hiddleston that can be edited with custom captions (shown below).

On April 4th, a Facebook ^[18] page titled “I Love Tom Hiddleston (Loki Page)” was launched, accumulating more than 15,000 likes in the first 16 months. On Tumblr, several Loki-related fan blogs have been launched, including “F Yeah Loki,” ^[19]“Loki Lovers” ^[20] and “Loki’s Monster Crotch.” ^[21] On July 21st, 2013, Hiddleston appeared as Loki at the San Diego Comic-Con and took over comedian Chris Hardwick’s panel to address the audience (shown below).

Fan Films

On April 20, 2015 YouTube channel Studio C uploaded a music video parody of Age of Ultron (shown below, left). As of July 2015, the video has over 1.7 million views. On May 13, 2015 YouTube channel Screen Team uploaded another music video parody (shown below, right). As of July 2015, the video has over 2.5 million views.

On March 25, 2015 YouTube channel The Warp Zone uploaded a video entitled “HODOR vs GROOTRAPBATTLE” in which the MCU version of Guardians of the Galaxy character Groot faces of with Game of Thrones character Hodor in a rap battle in a similar vein to ERB’s Epic Rap Battles of History series (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has nearly 2 million views.

Fan Animations

On June 9, 2010 YouTube comedy channel, CollegeHumor uploaded a video entitled “Iron Man 2 Alternate Takes” (shown below, left). The video has over 6.6 million views as of July 2015. CollegeHumor later uploaded a second MCU parody titled “Too Many Avengers”, uploaded on June 7, 2012 (shown below, right). As of July 2015, the video has nearly 5 million views.

On July 12, 2014 YouTuber Sky Does Minecraft uploaded a Minecraft animation parody of The Avengers (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has nearly 3 million views.

Fan-Art

On YouTube there are several videos of YouTubers doing sketches and speed drawings of MCU characters. ^[13] On August 4, 2011 YouTuber Renowned Warrior uploaded a video of their speed drawing of Chris Evans’ portrayal of Captain America (shown below, left). Later on May 8, 2012 YouTuber ThePortraitArt uploaded their drawing of Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of Thor (shown below, right).

On DeviantArt there are numerous pieces of fan-art uploaded under both “MCU” ^[14] and “Marvel Cinematic Universe”, ^[15] as well as over 280,000 pieces of fanart under “The Avengers”, many of which are depicted in their MCU incarnations. ^[16]

Related Memes

I Understood That Reference

I Understood That Reference is an expression used in online forums and comments as an acknowledgement of a pop culture reference said by another. The quote was originally said by Captain America in the 2012 Marvel superhero action film The Avengers.

Captain America: Civil War 4 Pane

Captain America: Civil War 4 Pane is a series of vertical multi-pane image macros based on an exploitable photo set from the 2012 Marvel superhero film The Avengers illustrating a deadlocked conversation between two people at odds, usually over fandom rivalries.

Search Interest

External Links

About

Ghost in The Shell is a Japanese multimedia franchise, spanning over movies, TV anime and manga, first originating as a seinen manga series written by Masamune Shirow. The series has garnered much popularity, especially in the west, where it is credited as one of the original causes of the anime fandom, spawning a number of parodies and fan works.

Premise

The setting of Ghost in the Shell is a post-World War IV Japan where mankind and machines have reached a convergence, a time when man will be indistinguishable from machine. These cyborg bodies that hold a person’s mind are called their “shells”, while the mind and the person’s state of self are referred to as the “ghost”. The plot focuses around Lt. Makoto Kusanagi and the Public Security Section 9 as they work to take down cyber-terrorists that could potentially lead to the downfall of Japan or even the world.

History

Ghost in The Shell first began as a seinen manga series, written by mangaka Masamune Shirow, and circulated in Kodansha’s Young Magazine from April 1989 to November 1990. A sequel manga, titled Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface was also created,running from September 1991 to August 1997. This was later adapted into a successful 1995 anime movie, directed by Mamoru Oshii and animated by by Production IG, also known for their work on series such as Psycho-Pass and Guilty Crown. A sequel movie, titled Ghost in The Shell 2: Innocence premiered on September 17, 2004

As well as movies, a number of TV shows were also made based off the Ghost in The Shell franchise. The first of these shows, titled Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex first aired from 1 October 2002 to 1 October 2003, running for 26 episodes, followed by a sequel series titled Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG which ran from 1 January 2004 to 8 January 2005 for 26 episodes also. A second adaptation, titled Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Alternative Architecture was also created, first running for 5 50 minute OVAs from July 22, 2013 to August 26, 2015 before being compiled into a 10 episode TV anime from April 5 to June 14, 2015.

Online Relevance

On Tumblr the franchise is tagged under several tags. ^[1][2][3][4] The Facebook the page for the first movie has over 218,000 likes. ^[5] On YouTube the official trailer for the original film, released by Starz Media and uploaded to their YouTube channel on October 31, 2006, has over 1.5 million views as of July 2015 (shown below).

The full versions of the opening themes for both Stand Alone Complex and Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig have been uploaded numerous times. The most viewed versions of each song have over 12.6 million views and and over 2.3 million views respectively (both shown below).

Fandom

The franchise has a large following online both in and outside of the larger anime community. On Tumblr there are various blogs dedicated to the franchise, such as Fuck Yeah Kusanagi, ^[6] G I T S, ^[7] Ghost on the Net ^[8] as well as many others. ^[9] On Reddit the Ghost in the Shell subreddit has over 3,000 readers. ^[10] The franchise also has followings on sites such as DeviantArt^[11] and Fanpop ^[12].

On April 20, 2006 YouTuber lawala uploaded a mashup of clips from Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix, the Animatrix as well as an original edit by fellow YouTuber Alpha Omega Productions (shown below).

Fanart

On December 15, 2013 YouTuber CreativeStation uploaded a speed art creation of Ghost in the Shell protagonist Makoto Kusanagi (shown below).

On DeviantArt there are around 19,500 posts tagged under “Ghost in the Shell” and around 23,200 for “GitS”. ^[13][14]

Notable Sub-Memes

Ghost In The Shell Opening Parodies

Ghost in the Shell Opening Parodies refer to a series of parody videos for the opening movie of a Japanese TV anime series Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. In addition to the video the term also encompasses the edits of an iconic pose that the charcters take near the beginning of the opening known as the “GitS Pose”.

The Laughing Man

The Laughing Man is the main antagonist of Stand Alone Complex, inspired by the short story of the same name by J. D. Salinger. The character, especially his signature logo has come to be used by others online as a symbol of defying authority in a similar vein to the Guy Fawkes mask.

Search Interest

External References

Work in Progress

About

Spice and Wolf (狼と香辛料, Ookami to Koushinryou) is a Japanese light visual novels, manga and anime series written by Isuna Hasekura and illustrated by Jū Ayakura. The story follows the traveling merchant Kraft Lawrence and the pagan goddess of harvest Holo and their travels.

Premise

History

Reception

Impact

Online Relevance

Change.org Petition

In mid to late 2013 Change.org user Shut Down submitted a petition aimed towards Funimation to try and create a third season of Spice and Wolf. The petition gained a total of 18,921 signers out of a goal of 20,000. ^[1] However, after two years, in May of 2015, original poster Shut Down had his account terminated for violating the site’s ECPA. As a result the petition never reached the amount of signatures required.

Related Memes

Puffy Vulva

Search Interest

External References

Work in progress. Feel free to request editorship

About

Danny Phantom is an American cartoon series created by Butch Hartman and broadcasted on Nickelodeon. The series follows the exploits of Danny Fenton, who after crossing accidentaly a portal between this world and a supernatural world, becomes half-ghost and saves the world from ghost attacks.

History

Reception

Online Relevance

Related Memes

Trans Danny Fenton

Trans Danny Fenton refers to a fan made theory that says Danny Fenton identifies himself as a woman.^[3] One of the most populars posts regarding this theory can be found on Tumblr’s user ghostboyhost blog, getting over 170,000 notes in less than two months.^[5] This post was consequently posted in /r/TumblrInAction on May 22nd, 2015, recieving over 28 upvotes in less than two months.^[4]

Search Interest

External References

About

Limberbutt McCubbins is a pet cat belonging to Louisville, Kentucky resident Emilee McCubbins, who registered the feline with the Federal Election Commission to be a Democratic candidate in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Origin

In May 2015, high school student Isaac Weiss submitted his friend Emilee McCubbins’ cat as a Democratic Party candidate in the 2016 presidential election with the U.S. Federal Election Commission (shown below).

Spread

On May 7th, 2015, the cat’s presidential candidacy was discussed on the MSNBC political television program The Rachel Maddow Show.^[5] On June 1st, a Facebook^[1] page for Limberbutt McCubbins was launched, which described itself as a page “to help spread the word of the future Democrat nominee for the 2016 presidential election.”

On the following day, the Facebook page uploaded a Limberbutt-themed Obama “Hope” Poster parody image with the caption “Together, we cat” (shown below).^[3] In two weeks, the photo post gained over 200 likes and 95 shares.

On July 8th, 2015, the Louisville, Kentucky National Public Radio member station WFPL broadcast a segment on Limberbutt McCubbins presidential candidacy, which included interviews with his owner and campaign manager Isaac Weiss (shown below). The following day, Jezebel^[4] published an article titled “Jezebel Endorses Limberbutt McCubbins Cat, for President.”

Search Interest

Not available.

External References

A series of GoAnimate videos created by a Japanese American person. He uses these sprites called “Mr. Driller Chibis”, which are property of another user known as “KingMTJ”, who always decides to say “Take it down!”, even though he gives credit to KingMTJ. He calls KingMTJ “King Empty Jay” to avoid cyberbullying. A bunch Drillimation haters who are part of the UTTP say “Report this user” for unknown reasons.

About

To have a Case of the Mondays is to be in a bad mood on Monday due to the work- or school-week beginning.

Origin

The line was originally spoken in the 1999 film Office Space, in a scene where main character Peter Gibbons is talking about how he can’t be in the office because it’s making him too upset. A female temp worker comes up behind him as he’s talking and says, “Uh oh. It looks like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays” in a childish and rude tone.^[1]

The term was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2004,^[2] but evidence suggests that online usage far predates that origin; The first documented use on Usenet was in 2000, less than a year after the film’s original release.^[3]

Spread

The quote has been in use since the early days of online communities; for instance, there are 902 results for the phrase within Usenet.^[3] A search for the term returns thousands of results on Reddit, where the phrase is traditionally paired with a photo or story explaining why the work of the day is unwanted, including 5 that have 1000 or more upvotes.^[4] Several of these are albums for pornography, indicating that the phrase is used to indicate that people will see something inside that might “cheer them up.” Another common joke is to indicate that if there were a beer named Mondays, everyone would want to have a case of it.

In 2012, a band called “A Case of the Mondays” released their first record.^[5] In addition, four people on Soundcloud make music under this name ^[6]

The phrase is also available on several consumer goods, including eCards and posters.^[7][8]

Search Interest

External References

About

Breadsticks is a series of mock dinner date conversations in which a person abruptly leaves the table while stuffing complimentary breadsticks into their purse after hearing their date say something undesirable or offensive. In late May 2015, posts containing variations of the conversations saw a significant resurgence on Tumblr.

Origin

On November 11th, 2014, Tumblr user chrisprattsgf^[2] submitted a parody date transcript in which she suddenly grabs breadsticks off a dinner table and leaves after her date reveals he is a cat person (shown below). In the next year, the post gathered upwards of 67,600 notes.

Spread

On May 26th, 2015, Tumblr user akeelahandtghebinapartment23^[3] posted a dialogue transcript titled “on the first date with your crush,” in which she abruptly grabs breadsticks off a dinner table and says “I gotta go” after discovering her date partner was born under the Gemini Zodiac astrological sign (shown below). Within two months, the post gained over 151,000 notes.

On July 11th, the Meme Documentation^[1] Tumblr blog published an explanation of the breadstick meme. The same day, Tumblr user peanutscratch^[4] posted a variation of the joke in which a person asks their date to help steal breadsticks from an Olive Garden restaurant, garnering more than 106,000 notes in the next 48 hours (shown below, left). On July 12th, Tumblr user gayheda^[5] posted a date transcript in which breadsticks are returned to the table during a discussion about the current state of feminism (shown below, right). Within 24 hours, the post gained over 163,000 notes.

Search Interest

Not available.

External References

Its from a Movie called Captain Phillips (2013). Synopsis from IMDB“The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.” Basically, in the movie pirates took over the ship and one said to the captain, “Look at me. I’m the captain now.” Its easily adaptable to many life situations like most successful memes.

About

#OhNoHarry is a hashtag for jokes regarding an incident in which One Direction singer Harry Styles stumbled in fell while performing at a concert in San Diego, California in July 2015.

Origin

During a One Direction concert held on July 9th, 2015, band member Styles concert in San Diego stumbled backwards and fell down while carrying a microphone stand (shown below). That evening Viner Stalker Sarah posted a video clip of the fall, which gained over 6.9 million loops, 19,000 likes and 10,000 revines in the first four days (shown below).

Spread

On July 10th, Twitter user @angelsmilehes posted several photoshops featuring a cut out image of Styles mid-fall (shown below). In 72 hours, the tweet gathered upwards of 650 retweets and 550 favorites.

In the coming days, several news sites published articles about the hashtag, including Today, . According to the Twitter analytics site Topsy,^[2] the hashtag @OhNoHarry was tweeted upwards of 840,000 times over the next week.

Search Interest

External References

About

Ravioli Ravioli Give Me the Forumuoli is a scene from the cartoon “Spongebob Squarepants” It is usually used in vines and Youtube videos, usually with rap music, similar to Thomas the Tank Engine Remixes.

Origin

Ravioli Ravioli Give Me the Forumuoli originated as a scene from "Spongebob Squarepants’ Where Plankton attempts to convince Spongebob that he is Mr. Krabs, so that he can steal the secret formula for krabby patties.

Spread

The earliest known usage of the quote with rap music was in a vine, with the song “Black and Yellow”, the vine gained a high amount of popularity and also gained over 16,000 views on Youtube, many people created vines similar to this.

Notable Examples

Search Interest

About

A Shark is a member of one of 500 different species of fish which all have cartilaginous skeletons, gill slits on the side of the head, and pectoral fins fused to the back, instead of the head. Some of the more notable types include the Great White Shark, the Tiger Shark, the Hammerhead Shark, and the Blue Shark.^[1] Since they are carnivorous and their mouths contain many rows of sharp, jagged teeth, they are well-known as dangerous predators, and sometimes attack humans who get too close to them. In popular culture, sharks have simultaneously been admired for their strength and hunting prowess and feared for the same, and the fish have substantial fandoms, both online and offline.

Online History

While much media coverage is focused on shark attacks and their victims, often resulting in online discussion, a parallel world of shark fandom exists. Much of the early discussion of sharks on forums like Usenet was related to their conservation and to prevent hunting, as many shark species are endangered and some are hunted for use in a Chinese delicacy called Shark’s Fin Soup.^[2] Another touchpoint of early internet shark fandom was the iconic 1975 film Jaws, which provided characters, including a vicious, deadly shark, for fantasy scripts^[3] and early fanfiction; there are 1,232 results for stories featuring Jaws on Fanfiction.net, and 1,841 results for the search term “shark.”^[4][5] In addition, there are several shark-related fanclubs, including some for specific species, like the Fanpop.com club for Great White Sharks.^[6] DeviantArt returns over 250,000 results for the search term “Shark” as of July 14th, 2015,^[7] and the subreddit /r/sharks has over 8,500 readers.^[8]

Shark Fan Art on DeviantArt

Shark Week

Shark Week is a block of programming dedicated to the fish and the fear they induce which airs on the Discovery Channel each year in late August. Because of the popularity of sharks online, and its unique singular focus, the programming block has gained a large fanbase, both ironic and unironic, online. Programming features nonfiction shows and specials which offer close up footage of sharks which have evolved as the technology behind video and underwater cameras have evolved. Shark Week has its own fandoms and related memes separate from sharks as a whole, often hinging on the ridiculousness of featuring one creature on television for an entire week.

“Jump the Shark”

To “Jump the Shark” is a term used to describe the moment when a trend or media item has reached its peak popularity, and will only descend in relevancy from that point forward.^[9] It was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2003, but the term is believed to originate from a 1977 episode of the television show Happy Days in which the character Fonzie jumps over a shark while riding waterskis.

According to Google Trends, use of the term “jump the shark” has itself jumped the shark, having previously peaked in 2004 and trended downhill from there.^[10]

Related Memes

The Singing Shark

The Singing Shark is a 4-pane comic featuring an illustrated shark singing the phrases “I’m a shark! Suck my diiiiick!” The comic inspired an exploitable series, including various animals, people and objects with speech bubbles containing the snowclone “I’m a X” and the phrase “Suck my dick!”

Bearsharktopus

Bearsharktopus is a fictional hybrid monster consisting of shark’s head, a bear’s body and octopus tentacles which first became popular on Reddit in 2009.

Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Shark

The Left Shark, also known as the Super Bowl Halftime Shark, is a nickname given to one of the stage dancers dressed in a shark costume during Katy Perry’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl XLIX on February 1st, 2015.

Tsundere Sharks

Tsundere Shark is a photoshop meme in which photographs and illustrations of sharks are embellished with pink blushes and glowing anime eyes in the typical fashion of how tsundere characters are portrayed in animes.

Jaws Poster Parodies

Jaws Poster Parodies are recreations of the iconic poster for the 1975 thriller film Jaws, featuring a giant shark attacking a lone woman in the ocean. Many of the parodies replace the shark or woman with different characters from a variety of contexts.

Critters Posting on 4Chan

Critters Posting on 4chan is a two-pane image series comprised of a screenshot of a 4chan post written in defense of a particular species in the animal kingdom and an illustration anthropomorphically portraying the aforementioned creature as the original poster. One of the first examples was of a shark giving his defense.

Search Interest

External References

About

Adobe Flash is a development platform for various types multimedia and software, including animations, browser games, web applications and mobile games. Flash is supported on a several different web browsers for the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS C and Linux operating systems, but was replaced by HTML 5 for use on smart phone mobile devices.

History

In 1993, the California-based software development company FutureWave Software^[1] was founded, which released the drawing program SmartSketch as their first product. Shortly after, the program was redesigned as the FutureSplash Animator vector animation tool (shown below).

In December 1996, the software company Macromedia purchased FutureSplash, renaming the product to Adobe Flash and releasing it as both an editor and player. The new version was widely adopted on the web by video game and animation creators following the release of a free browser plugin.

HTML 5

In January 2008, the core technology Internet markup language HTML 5 was released, which included several features similar to Adobe Flash, including audio and video playback and Scalable Vector Graphics. Unlike Flash, HTML 5 requires the use of CSS3 and Javascript to run animations and interactive elements. In January 2015, YouTube replaced Flash with HTML 5 as their default video player.

Highlights

Newgrounds

In 1995, the first version of the site Newgrounds was launched, which has been cited as the web’s oldest Flash animation portal user-generated community. The site was scarcely updated until after the Macromedia acquisition of Flash in 1996.

YTMND

In March 2006, YTMND switched to a Flash preloader^[6] for user-submitted pages in order to fix a bug requiring a page refresh to match background sound with animations.

YouTube Tutorials

Many YouTubers have created video tutorials on creating games and animations using Adobe Flash. As of July 2015, there are over 293,000 search results for the query “adobe flash tutorial.”^[7]

Reception

Flash has been criticized for its poor performance in resource management, frequent requirement of software updates and a variety of security vulnerabilities.

Update Requirements

Adobe Flash has gained much notoriety for its frequent release of software updates, which may cause inexplicable crashes or malfunctions for the users if neglected.

Browser Incompatibilities

As major web browsers and video-hosting platforms began to phase out their support of Adobe Flash for HTML5, many users have complained about experiencing sudden crashes during the playback of a media file.

Security Vulnerabilities

In 2011, the Mac Security company Intego^[5] released a “Year in Mac Security” report, which noted that a trojan virus masquerading as a Flash Player installer had infected Mac OS X users. In early July 2015, several new security vulnerabilities were discovered in Flash, including a hack that allowed cyber criminals to attack a remote target’s machine with malicious code.^[2] On July 12th, Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos^[3][4] posted tweets calling for Adobe to announce an “end-of-life date for Flash,” following the security complaints about the software platform (shown below). On the following day, the software company Mozilla disabled Flash by default in their Firefox web browsers.

Search Interest

External References