This meme was created in late August of 2016. When MasterDrifter01/KLEARBOSS lost his “owner rank” on a server on Discord for abusing his “owner rank”. He got very angry which lead to him being banned. Before being banned MasterDrifter01/KLEARBOSS kept asking for owner rank back which lead to people making fun of it and ultimately, this meme.
Owner rank
Tombili / Chill Cat
About
Tombili, also known as Chill Cat, was a cat from Istanbul, Turkey who grew famous for posing in a relaxed nature in a picture that inspired image macros and photoshops.
Origin
Tombili was a cat who lived in Istanbul, Turkey. She was a neighborhood cat, and due to her obesity, did not move around much, and got along very well with people. According to the Huffington Post,[4] while many people assumed the cat was male, Tombili was female. The earliest known appearance of the chill cat came on June 6th, 2012, when Buzzfeed[1] community user okan-art.com uploaded the picture to the site in a post called “Look at This Laid-Back Cat.”
Spread
Tombili inspired a spread of LOLcats images[2] and a Daily Dot[3] photoshop contest that helped launched him to internet fame. She also grew popular on 9gag, [6] where she topped a post of cats sitting in strange positions that gained over 26,000 points.
Death
In August of 2016, Tombili died after battling illness.[5] Shortly after, a poster was put up honoring her memory. However, following a Change.org petition for a more proper tribute signed by over 17,000 people, Istanbul had a statue of Tombili created by local artist Seval Şahin placed in the spot where Tombili’s iconic photo was taken.[3]
The statue was covered by Huffington Post, Daily Dot, The Daily Mail,[7] Mashable,[8] and more.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]Buzzfeed – Look At This Laid-Back Cat
[2]Chirpstory – Foto: Tombili si Kucing ‘Meme’ Meninggal, Istanbul Buatkan Patung untuk Mengenangnya
[3]The Daily Dot – Famously chill Turkish cat gets beautiful memorial statue
[4]Huffington Post – Famously Chill Cat Memorialized With Her Own Statue
[5]hurriyetdailynews – Istanbul’s phenomenal cat Tombili dies
[6]9Gag – Cats sitting in weird positions will never not be funny
[7]The Daily Mail – Now THAT’S a copy cat! Bronze statue honors famed Istanbul feline Tombili – striking his favourite ‘chilled out’ pose
[8]Mashable – Beloved neighborhood cat honored with statue in his likeness
Bear In The Big Blue House
About
Bear In The Big Blue House is a Disney childrens’ television series centered around the show’s protagonist Bear who lives in a house with several of his puppet friends. In early October 2016, image macros of the character were frequently posted on the /r/me_irl subreddit to compete with the annual skeleton war event, leading some viewers to accuse the bear posts of being a forced meme.
Origin
On October 4th, 2016, Redditor bradfordGT submitted a picture of Bear from Bear In The Big Blue House, along with the caption “Trying to sneak in the new meme of the month like” (shown below). Within 72 hours, the post received upwards of 1,500 votes (93% upvoted) on the /r/me_irl subreddit.[1]
Spread
Over the next 24 hours, several Bear in the Big Blue House image macros reached the front page of /r/me_irl (shown below).[8][9][10]
On October 5th, 2016, Redditor bradfordGT submitted a post stating that the “Bear in the Big Blue House memes” were “so hot right now” to /r/MemeEconomy.[4] That same day, Redditor Zonemasta8 speculated that the Bear in the Big Blue House would be the “meme of the month” in /r/MemeEconomy,[5] meanwhile a post featuring the bear on a “Great Meme Drought of October 2016” calendar reached the front page of /r/me_irl[2] (shown below).
The following day, Redditor TornzIP submitted a post claiming that the bear meme was “not meme of the month,” arguing that it was being forced by people who were impatient for a new meme to rise organically. Within 24 hours, the post gained over 1,400 votes (91% upvoted) and 60 comments on /r/me_irl.[7] On October 6th, Redditor Pwnigiri submitted a “Whoa, We’re Halfway There” image macro featuring a skeleton and Bear (shown below). On October 7th, Redditor PatClanet submitted a post announcing that “Bear in the Big Blue House memes are soon to peak!” to the /r/MemeEconomy[3] subreddit.
Search Interest
External References
[3]Reddit – Bear in the Big Blue House memes are soon to peak! Invest now!
[4]Reddit – Bear in the big blue house memes… so hot right now
[5]Reddit – Bear in the big blue house meme speculated to be meme of the month
[6]Reddit – Should I invest in skeleton vs bear memes
[8]Reddit – Bae come over
[9]Reddit – when the memes become so self-referential
[10]Reddit – me during the day
Cyberpunk
About
Cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and aesthetic movement centered around advancements in the fields of robots, cybernetics and information technology. Cyberpunk is often associated with various transhumanist themes, including the use of electronic hardware to augment human abilities.
History
Literature
In 1980, Minnesota-based writer Bruce Bethke coined the term “cyberpunk” in his titular short story, which was subsequently published in the November 1983 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories.[1] The word was subsequently used to define a sub-genre of science fiction popularized by many writers, including William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan and Philip K. Dick. Many have considered Gibson’s 1984 novel Neuromancer as an iconic cyberpunk work of fiction.
Film
In 1982, the film Blade Runner was released as an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which is set in a dystopian future where androids who have fled their human captors are destroyed by bounty hunters known as “Blade Runners.” Other films that have been associated with cyberpunk include The Matrix, 12 Monkeys, The Lawnmower Man, Hackers and Strange Days
Anime and Manga
Cyberpunk themes can be found in a wide variety of anime and manga, including Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Psycho Pass.
Video Games
Many video game series include themes associated with cyberpunk, including Shadowrun, System Shock, Metal Gear and Syndicate. The game Cyberpunk 2077 is in development by the Polish developer CD Projekt RED.
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action role playing video game franchise set in the 21st century, where secret societies are fighting for power and control over world, and various types of body augmentation are being practiced.
Fallout
Fallout is a role-playing video game series originally created by Interplay Entertainment and Black Isle Studios in 1997 and currently developed by Bethesda Softworks. The games take place in a retro-futuristic 22nd-23rd century United States where humanity is trying to survive in a world devastated by the effects of full nuclear war.
Online Presence
On April 29th, 2005, Urban Dictionary[3] user Jessica Williams submitted an entry for “cyberpunk,” defining it as a science fiction sub genre marked by a “stronge sense of helplessness, misery, dystopic ideals and loss of morality and/or humanity.” On May 27th, 2008, the /r/cyberpunk[4] subreddit was launched for discussions about the subculture. On May 1st, 2013, a page for cyberpunk was created on TV Tropes.[2]
Fanart
Cyberpunk-themed visual art often features dark, futuristic cities inhabited by people wearing cybernetic devices. On DeviantArt, there are over 69,000 search results for the keyword “cyberpunk” as of October 2016 (shown below).
Related Memes
Transhumanism
Transhumanism is a futurist philosophy and intellectual movement with the purpose of transforming the humanity by developing technologies that greatly enhance the physical and psychological capabilities of humans. Strongly influenced by works of science fiction, the transhumanist vision of a technologically transformed humanity has gained a large and diverse following online.
Outrun
Outrun is a 1980s-themed retrofuturistic visual art and music style associated with the electronic genres electro, synthwave, futuresynth, new retrowave and vaporwave. The style is named after the iconic 1986 arcade racing game Out Run.
Steampunk
Steampunk is a retro-futuristic science fiction sub-genre and aesthetic movement that depicts an alternate universe of the Victorian era or the American Wild West where steam power is the dominant source of energy. Steampunk is often associated with being optimistic and playful, albeit unrealistic. Steampunk often incorporates the Victorian period clothing with various engineering inventions and enhancements made of wood and brass, and has a preference for industrialism.
Search Interest
External References
Sad Ted Cruz
About
Sad Ted Cruz refers to a series of jokes made after former 2016 Republican Presidential Primary candidate Ted Cruz was filmed phone-banking in Texas, apparently on behalf of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who had famously belittled Cruz throughout the primary.
Origin
Cruz fought a contentious campaign against Trump in the primary. Trump had famously dubbed Cruz “Lyin’ Ted,” insulted his wife, and insinuated his father had a role in the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy. Despite this, and Cruz famously refusing to endorse Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Cruz eventually endorsed Trump in a Facebook post[2] on September 23rd, 2016. On October 5th, 2016, Ted Cruz phone-banked on behalf of Republican candidates in Texas. The Dallas Morning News[1] caught footage of Cruz leaving a voicemail to a voter while sitting in front of posters for Donald Trump.
Spread
The video began spreading on Twitter the following day as users joked that Cruz appears to be asking voters to vote for Trump, though in the footage, Cruz makes no mention of Trump. While the original video appears to have been deleted, a tweet by @LiamDonovan,[3] which refers to the footage as “The final humiliation,” indicates it was first shared by Dallas Morning News photojournalist G.J. McCarthy, who would later share the video again with a Dallas Morning News watermark.[4]
Shortly after, Twitter users pounced on the footage and captioned it or doctored it with various sad memes, including Mad World, [5]Hello Darkness, My Old Friend, [6]Record Scratch, Freeze Frame, [7] etc.
The spread of Cruz-related jokes was covered by many media outlets, including Huffington Post,[8] Washington Post,[9] Daily Dot,[10] and Business Insider.[11] It was a Twitter Moment[12] that day.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]Twitter – @gjmccarthy
[2]Facebook – Ted Cruz Trump Endorsement
[3]Twitter – @LPDonovan
[4]Twitter – @gjmccarthy
[5]Twitter – @GQMagazine
[6]Vine – Complyin’ Ted Cruz
[7]Twitter – @UrbanAchievr
[8]Huffington Post – Sad Ted Cruz Phone-Banking For Donald Trump Is The Meme Of The Campaign
[9]Washington Post -Sad Ted Cruz phone-banking for Donald Trump is a pretty great meme
[10]Daily Dot – Sad Ted Cruz cold-calling for Donald Trump is sad
[11]Business Insider – Internet lights up at video of Ted Cruz running a phone bank under a Trump-Pence sign
[12]Twitter Moments – People are hung up on Ted Cruz cold-calling for Trump
Gregg T.
About
Gregg T., also known as Gregg Turkin, is a New Yorker who grew to internet fame following his participation in a series of 2016 advertisements for the New York City MTA’s “If you see something, say something” campaign.
Origin
On March 21st, 2016, The New York Daily News[1] reported that the MTA was rolling out a new series of ads as part of their long running “If you see something, say something” campaign that encourages New Yorkers to report suspicious activity in order to keep the city safe. The new ads would feature testimonials from New Yorkers who have reported suspicious activity in an effort to put a human face on the campaign. One of those people was lawyer Gregg Turkin, who reported when he saw a suspicious group of cars while riding the Long Island Railroad.
Spread
While it’s unclear when or what exactly made Gregg a New York City celebrity, Gothamist[2] theorized that the ubiquity of his face had filled a void in New Yorker’s lives that once belonged to famed plastic surgeon Dr. Zizmor, whose subway ads had been featured in New York City subways for 25 years. One of the earlier known tweets about Gregg came from @MattyFray[3] on June 2nd, 2016, claiming Gregg looked exactly like a “snitch.”
On July 16th, 2016, a novelty twitter account devoted to tweeting in the supposed voice of Gregg T. appeared on Twitter.[6] Gregg began gaining further notoriety following a snapchat post by Mike Giannone that was shared on Twitter by @RyGia7[4] on August 12th, 2016. It featured Turkin sleeping on a train in front of his ad (shown below). The picture appeared on Reddit[11] in a post by hugosanchez and gained over 2,300 points, as of October 7th, 2016. The tweet was covered by Mashable.[5]
Gregg began appearing in several threads on the /r/nyc subreddit,[7][8] to the point where an Out of The Loop[9] thread appeared on /r/asknyc on September 22nd, 2016. Within a week, Gregg T.’s spread as a meme was covered by news outlets, most notably by Vox[10] and Gothamist. Turkin has a Facebook fan page with 484 followers[12] and a site devoted to him that sells merchandise.[13]
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]New York Daily News – EXCLUSIVE: MTA’s ‘see something, say something’ ad campaign to feature New Yorkers who spoke up
[2]Gothamist – If You See Something, Meme Something: Gregg T. Is The New Dr. Zizmor
[3]Twitter – @MattyFray
[5]Mashable – New York’s favorite subway ad model took a nap right next to his ad
[6]Twitter – @Gregg_From_LIRR
[7]/r/nyc – Our Humble Hero Stands Guard Ever Vigilant, Lest cars be parked where they shouldn’t be
[8]/r/nyc – Spotted! Gregg T. riding front and center at Jamaica.
[9]/r/asknyc – Out of the Loop: Who is Gregg T and why is he mini-famous?
[10]Vox – A New York lawyer saw something, said something. Now he’s an internet meme.
[11]/r/nyc – New Yorkers keep New York safe – Gregg T., LIRR
[12]Facebook – @GreggTurkin
2016 Hurricane Matthew
Overview
Hurricane Matthew is a strong tropical cyclone that formed off the African coast and rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane in late September 2016. In the following week, the hurricane impacted several island countries in the Caribbean as it progressed northwards. It is expected to make its landfall on the coast of the southeastern United States on October 7th.
Background
On September 22nd, 2016, the formation of a tropical storm was first detected after a tropical wave originating from the west coast of Africa rippled westward across the Atlantic Ocean.[1] Throughout the rest of September, the storm gradually grew into a tropical cyclone as it steered northwest and entered the Caribbean sea, causing casualties and severe property damages in Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and The Bahamas. By September 29th, the cyclone had been officially designated as a hurricane.
As Hurricane Matthew began approaching the southern coast of the United States, President Obama declared a federal state of emergency[2] in the states of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. As of October 7th, the storm has claimed at least 850 lives, mostly in Haiti.
Developments
Evacuations
Governors Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Pat McRory of North Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida, and Nathan Deal of Georgia all either ordered or recommended evacuations from the parts of their state that were susceptible to the hurricane. In his speech urging evacuation, Rick Scott stated the hurricane “will kill you.”
The Weather Channel[3] also urged Floridians considering staying in Florida through the storm despite the urges of its Governor to evacuate.
Skull Photo
On October 4th, Stu Ostro of Wired tweeted[7] a picture of the hurricane on radar as it made landfall in Haiti. The radar made the hurricane look like a skull. The skull photo made national news, and was reported on by CNN.[8]
Shep Smith Coverage
Many outlets reported on Sandy with utmost seriousness. Some were graver than others; Shep Smith of Fox News reported that the Hurricane would kill “everyone you know, and your children too” (shown below).[5]
Right-Wing Conspiracy Theorists
On October 6th, Matt Drudge of Drudge report tweeted[4] a theory that the government had been lying to the public about Hurricane Matthew in order to make an exaggerated point about climate change. Rush Limbaugh gave similar sentiments on his show on October 5th.[10]
Online Reaction
The storm remained a Twitter moment[9] during its duration, as thousands of social media users tweeted pictures and videos of the effects of the storm. Wellington, Florida resident and rapper Vanilla Ice caused concern about his welfare when he stopped live-tweeting through the storm and went to bed.[6]
Search Interest
External References
[1]Wikipedia – Hurricane Matthew
[2]FEMA– "FEMA – Hurricane Matthew
[3]Reddit – Urgent message from The Weather Channel for Those in the Path of Hurricane Matthew
[4]Twitter – Matt Drudge Tweet
[5]Twitter – @DeathbyMartyMar’s Tweet
[6]Palm Beach Post – Social media turned into a real storm during Hurricane Matthew
[8]CNN– Skull image of Hurricane Matthew spooks the Internet
[9]Twitter Moments – Hurricane Matthew moves up the East Coast
[10]Salon – Mother Nature’s myth: Why are Matt Drudge and Rush Limbaugh pushing Hurricane Matthew conspiracy theories?
Backpage
About
Backpage is a classified advertisement website in which users can create listings to trade various products and services, bearing many similarities to the site Craigslist. In early October 2016, Backpage co-founders Michael Lacey, along with CEO Carl Ferrer, were charged with conspiracy to commit pimping due to listings created on the site.
History
In 2004, the company New Times Media (now known as Village Voice Media) launched backpage as a free classified service following the success of the site Craigslist.
Features
The site contains classified listings in a variety of categories in local areas across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Pacific and Middle East. Categories where listings can be searched and created include real estate, jobs, automotive, musician, community and buy/sell/trade. Additionally, the site contains an “adult” category, which often contain sexual innuendo along with sexually explicit images. The site prohibits illegal services and prostitution in the Terms of Service, which users must agree to prior to submitting a listing.
Controversies
Sex Trafficking
In 2010, Craigslist closed the categories for adult services in the United States, leading to a influx in adult-oriented posting on Backpage.
Traffic
Search Interest
External References
is jus gam
Yahoo Male Purge Lawsuit
Overview
The Yahoo Male Purge Lawsuit is an ongoing lawsuit filed by Scott Ard, a prominent local media executive fired from Yahoo, against Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer on the basis of organizing a mass removal of male employees.
Background
In January of 2015, Ard was reportedly fired after working for Yahoo for 3½ years for the official reason of his performance not being satisfactory. The Mercury News was first to report this story and explained:
“Liberman stated that she was terminating (Ard) because she had not received a requested breakdown of (his) duties. (Ard) had already provided that very information as requested, however, and reminded Liberman that he had done so,” the lawsuit said. “Liberman’s excuse for terminating (Ard) was a pretext.” Right after the call, Ard requested a copy of his performance review and said he wanted to appeal his firing, the suit said. “Both requests were denied and (Ard) was ordered to turn in his laptop and depart the premises immediately.”[1]
Scott Ard filed a lawsuit in the San Jose District Court this week alleging “Mayer encouraged and fostered the use of [an employee performance-rating system] to accommodate management’s subjective biases and personal opinions, to the detriment of Yahoo’s male employees.”[3] Ard further argues he had received overall positive performance reviews and stock awards before Mayer introduced a quarterly performance review (QPR) system that ranked him as unsatisfactory.[4] Yahoo spokeswoman Carolyn Clark commented that the performance review process was “developed to allow employees at all levels of the company to receive meaningful, regular, and actionable feedback from others” and that the “lawsuit has no merit.”[5] The lawsuit points out women accounted for less than 20 percent of the top managers and “Within a year and a half those top managers were more than 80 percent female.”[6] The lawsuit further alleges Kathy Savitt, Yahoo’s former chief marketing, “intentionally hired and promoted women because of their gender, while terminating, demoting or laying off male employees because of their gender.”[6] The Mercury News’ story was reposted by user lorddimwit in the r/news subreddit on Reddit and gained over 6k upvotes in 10 hours.[2]
External References
[1]Mercury News – Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer led illegal purge of male employees, lawsuit charges
[2]Reddit – Lawsuit: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer led illegal purge of male workers
[3]CNBC– Lawsuit: Yahoo CEO tried to get rid of male employees
[4]Reuters – Lawsuit claims Yahoo job reviews discriminated against men
[5]USA Today – Lawsuit claims Yahoo ousted male employees
[6]US News – Lawsuit Accuses Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer of Discrimination Against Men
Wigilia w Radomiu (Christmas Eve in Radom)
About
Wigilia w Radomiu (“Christmas Eve in Radom”) is a 2012 YouTube video, depicting a scene from a public Christmas Eve celebration in the Polish city of Radom. The video shows a crowd of people making their way to a table full of complimentary food and drink, and quickly emptying it by grabbing everything for themselves. The video quickly became viral on the Polish internet; one particularly memorable individual visible in the video became known as Chytra baba z Radomia (“Cunning lady from Radom”).
Origin
The original video was uploaded to YouTube around December 15th, 2012 by the user radomkropkaws, an owner of the website radom.ws devoted to Radom[1].
It was filmed during the 2012 installment of “Gwiazdka na deptaku” (“Christmas Eve on the walkway”), a yearly public Christmas Eve celebration organized by the authorities of Radom. The video depicts a crowd of people who, faced with several tables’ worth of complimentary food and drink, begin grabbing as much as possible for themselves and empty the tables completely within 30 seconds.
One person in particular caught the viewers’ attention – an elderly woman (at 0:10 in the below video) who repeatedly leans across the table to grab all the available bottles of drink (specifically, a citrus drink named “Zbyszko 3 Cytryny”). This woman later became known as the Chytra baba z Radomia (“Cunning lady from Radom”).
(Note: This is a reupload of the original video, which has been deleted.)
Spread
Very soon, the video went viral on the Polish internet. Numerous photoshopped images soon emerged depicting the “cunning lady” in her iconic, arm-stretched pose in various situations. Other images made allusions to lemons (a reference to the citrus drink.)[2]
An user of the auction portal Allegro put up a bottle of Zbyszko 3 Cytryny for auction, jokingly claiming that the drink was stolen from the Radom Christmas table, and that it was in fact a gift from the “cunning lady” herself. Starting at a bid price of 1 zloty, the auction soon reached a shocking price of a billion zlotys[3].
In late December, a game called “Wigilia w Radomiu” by Avantis Game Studio was released on Google Play; in this simple arcade game, the player must slap away the “cunning lady”’s arms before she steals all the bottles of drink[4][5].
Around January 15th, 2015 the Radom brewery Pivovaria began selling a new brand of beer, named “Chytra Baba z Radomia – American Pale Ale”[6].
Reactions
On December 19th, the original YouTube uploader removed the video[10], stating that he felt it was causing too many negative comments about his home city and that the hubbub around it was entirely unwarranted. He pointed out that there was nothing particularly scandalous about the behavior depicted in the video, seeing as there were no cups provided at the event, giving the participants no choice but to take the drinks with themselves[1].
The president of Radom, Andrzej Kosztowniak, reportedly issued a statement where he condemned the video for “depicting a negative and highly unfair image” of the city and its citizens[8].
The viral spread of the video and the resulting memes were ultimately controversial. Many viewers held up the video as a prime symbol of human greed and selfishness[7][8]. Others, however, claimed that it depicted shameful behavior characteristic for the city itself (using phrases such as “Radom isn’t a city, it’s a state of mind.”)[9] The meme wasn’t very well-loved among the inhabitants of Radom, who felt that it was making their city into a laughingstock[8]; some were reportedly furious at the “cunning lady” for the embarrassment. Journalists of the magazine Newsweek made an attempt to find the “lady”, and while they did not succeed, the citizens of Radom they interviewed were overall dismayed and embarrassed by the meme’s spread[9].
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]naTemat.pl – Film z Wigilii w Radomiu znika z YouTube. “Nie spodziewałem się tylu negatywnych opinii” / 2012-12-20
[2]naTemat.pl – Chytra baba zdobywa Facebooka. 25 najlepszych memów prosto z Radomia! / 2012-12-19
[3]naTemat.pl – Butelka napoju “Chytrej baby” z Radomia warta na Allegro miliard złotych! Ktoś za to naprawdę zapłaci? / 2012-12-20
[4]CoJaMysle? – Najlepsza gra świąteczna to… Wigilia w Radomiu / 2012-12-28
[5]Google Play – Wigilia w Radomiu
[6]ocen-piwo.pl – Chytra Baba z Radomia / 2015-04-07
[7]echodnia.eu – Film “Wigilia w Radomiu” hitem Internetu / 2012-12-19
[8]echodnia.eu – Wigilia w Radomiu – filmik z imprezy hitem Internetu. Jest się czym przejmować? / 2012-12-21
[9]Newsweek.pl – Rozszarpać chytrą babę / 2013-01-13
[10]Radom na fotografii (under the heading “19 grudnia 2012, środa”) / 2012-12-19
The Trump Tapes
Overview
The Trump Tapes refers to an audio recording of Donald Trump having a vulgar conversation about seducing and groping women with the host of Access Hollywood Billy Bush that was caught on hot microphone in 2005 and later published by The Washington Post in early October 2016 Upon the release of of the recording, the Republican presidential candidate immediately came under criticism from the news media and social media alike, due to the lewd and sexist nature of his comments.
Background
On September 16th, 2005, Donald Trump made a series of vulgar remarks about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women while sharing a bus ride with Billy Bush, the host of Access Hollywood, to the set of The Days of Our Lives to tape his cameo appearance on the popular daytime soap opera. On October 7th, 2016, more than a decade after the conversation took place and two days before the second United States presidential debate, The Washington Post published a three-minute recording of the conversation that had been apparently captured by a hot microphone.
Notable Developments
[researching]
Search Interest
External References
[1]Washington Post – Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005
[2]New York Times – Donald Trump Apology Caps Day of Outrage Over Lewd Tape
[3]ET Online – EXCLUSIVE: Nancy O’Dell Reacts to Donald Trump Recording
[4]Daily Mail – Billy Bush slammed on social media as former fans call for him to be fired from NBC
[5]Twitter – 2005 audio catches Donald Trump sexually objectifying women
[6]Twitter – CNN commentator goes viral with truths about Trump’s 2005 remarks
Tidus' Laugh/Tidus Laugh Remixes
W.I.P.
About
Tidus’ Laugh/Tidus Laugh Remixes are songs that are composed with a forced laugh uttered by main protagonist Tidus in Final Fantasy X. Online, the scene is (in)famous within and outside the Final Fantasy fandom, and is primarily utilized as a tool of ironic humor, and is considered an example of poor English.
Origin
The laugh originates from the 2001 PS2 video game Final Fantasy X. When character Yuna asks to hear his laugh, Tidus performs the forced fit of laughter, with Yuna joining in on the laugh later on. As Final Fantasy X was the first in the series to feature full voice acting, the scene appears in both the Japanese and English releases.
Spread
Almost as soon as the release of Final Fantasy X the laughing scene has often been ridiculed, questioned about, and misunderstood about the true meaning behind the moment online. Throughout the years, the scene remained fairly exclusive within the Final Fantasy community, with only few edits appearing around in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s.
A resurgence of popularity regarding the Tidus laugh began around 2015, with various successful remixes of Tidus’ laugh appearing in YTPMV’s.
Following the slow resurgence of Tidus’ laugh, on March 23, 2016, James Arnold Tyler, the English voice actor of Tidus, explains how the laugh came to be.The video currently has over 100,000 views.
Tidus Fantasy X
With a sudden influx of Tidus Laugh remixes, on September 8, 2016, modder Johnny Mac released Tidus Fantasy X, a mod which replaces the entire Final Fantasy X soundtrack and Tidus’ dialogue with his English laugh, to the appraisal of the community.
Search Interest
Posh Readings
About
“Posh Readings” are a type of YouTube video where someone takes a song, or something else with a lot of words, and changes it to be “Posh”, “Fancy”, or “Elegant”.
Origin
The first Posh Reading video was posted to YouTube by user MrTennek on June 25th, 2009. In the video, titled “The Posh Mothershuckling Dangle Dongler Hour” it’s the intro to the widely hated video game, “Hotel Mario”.
How X Was Discovered
About
How X Was Discovered is a series of videos showing how various styles of music were ‘discovered’, derived from the original video Trumpet From A Tube.
Origin
Trumpet From A Tube uploaded by hardlynewsblog on November 23, 2010, showing how to make a homemade trumpet from a mouth, plastic tube and funnel.
Spread
On June 10, 2016, YouTube user EKM CO uploaded video titled How Dubstep was Discovered [Extra Terra Music] [EKM.CO]. It received over 1.5 million views within the following days.
In the following weeks, a number of different How X Was Discovered videos were uploaded. The following are some of the most viewed ones, including psychedelic trance, vaporwave and trap.
Ken Bone
About
Ken Bone is a man who asked a question during the second 2016 United States Presidential Election Debate, which had a town hall format in which selected undecided voters ask questions directly to the candidates. Bone asked a question about the candidates’ energy policies, but because of his name and appearance, he immediately became popular on social media as users joked about him and engaged in ironic fandom.
Origin
Towards the end of the second presidential debate of the 2016 United States Presidential Election, moderator Anderson Cooper called upon Bone, who asked a question regarding the energy policies of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Spread
Immediately after his question, social media users, particularly on Twitter, began sharing posts in joke-adoration of Kenneth Bone.
Within an hour of the debate’s end, New York Magazine’s internet-focused blog Select All[1] wrote a piece devoted to the popularity of Ken Bone on Twitter. Other major news sites including CNN,[2] Daily Dot,[3] and Business Insider[4] immediately covered Bone’s rise to internet stardom. CNN theorized Bone grew popular because of his red cardigan and glasses, and Daily Dot theorized it was because of his suggestive last name, mustache, and gentle aura.
Post-Debate Footage
Footage of Bone post-debate helped further his popularity, particularly videos of him interacting with former President Bill Clinton and taking photographs with a disposable camera.
Game recognize game https://t.co/Ktg824cjSP
— Phil Friend (@Phil_Friend) October 10, 2016
Ken Bone taking a picture with his disposable camera so it lasts forever. Legend https://t.co/VU3ChYEaen
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) October 10, 2016
Pants-Splitting Story
The following day, Bone appeared on CNN and explained that the popular red sweater he wore was his backup plan. He initially was going to wear an olive suit, but when he was getting in his car to travel to the debate, he split the seat of his pants open.
Ken Bone says he wore the red sweater as a plan B to the debate because he “split the seat of my pants wide open” https://t.co/H9eL2wi5as
— CNN (@CNN) October 10, 2016
Online Presence
Bone’s Twitter account[5] quickly gained over 1,000 followers as he responded to his surge in popularity. For example, responding to one Twitter user who theorized “Ken Bone probably has a hot wife,” Bone wrote, “Yeah he does,” in a tweet that has gained over 1,900 retweets and 2,500 favorites.
A parody Twitter account for Ken Bone, @TheKenBone,[6] launched and gained over 4,700 followers overnight. On Facebook, Ken Bone was a trending topic the following morning, and a Kenneth Bone fan page[7] gained over 4,500 followers overnight.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]New York Magazine – Meet Kenneth Bone: the Red-Sweater-Wearing Star of the Presidential Debate
[2]CNN– And the winner of the presidential debate is… Ken Bone
[3]Daily Dot – The real winner of the 2nd presidential debate: Ken Bone and the Fly
[4]Business Insider -One of the debate questioners became an instant internet sensation
[5]Twitter – @kenbone18
[6]Twitter – @TheKenBone
[7]Facebook – @KennethBoneFanPage
Clinton/Trump Duet
About
Clinton/Trump Duet refers to a series of jokes about pictures taken at the second 2016 United States Presidential Election Debate of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump that make the candidates appear as though they are singing a karaoke duet.
Origin
The second presidential debate of the 2016 United States Presidential Election had a town hall format, meaning that the candidates sat in the middle of the stage and fielded questions from vetted undecided voters in the audience. Unlike other debates, the candidates were not standing at a podium and held microphones as they walked around the stage. Photos of the candidates talking into their microphones at the same time spread around the internet as Twitter users made jokes about how the candidates appeared to be singing a karaoke duet. Twitter user @Moochie_BMN[1] tweeted one of the first examples, shown below, and gained over 43,000 retweets and 73,000 favorites.
Spread
Through and after the debate, users tweeted pictures of Clinton and Trump with their microphones and captioned them with lyrics to popular duets, including Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’ “The Time of My Life” (below, left), Black Eyed Peas’ “Where Is The Love” (below, center), Les Miserables (below, right), and more.
The spread of the joke attracted the coverage of major media outlets, including Yahoo,[2] Fader,[3] Bustle,[4] and more.
Various Examples
Search Interest
(Unavailable)
External References
[1]Twitter – @Moochie_BMN
[2]Yahoo – People have turned last night’s debate into a hilarious meme of Trump and Hilary singing a duet
[3]Fader – This Meme Of Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump Singing A Duet Is Hilarious
[4]Bustle – These Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump Singing Memes Are The Greatest Take On The Second Debate Yet
Trump Lurking Behind Clinton
About
Trump Lurking Behind Clinton refers to photographs and videos showing Donald Trump standing behind Hillary Clinton during the second presidential general election debate held in early October 2016.
Origin
During the second presidential general election debate held on October 9th, 2016, Trump was seen following behind Clinton as the two candidates roamed the debate stage (shown below).
The evening, Twitter users began posting screencaptured images of Trump standing behind Clinton, along with captions mocking his behavior as creepy (shown below).
Spread
Meanwhile, Twitter user @darth[5] posted a photoshopped parody poster for the 2014 horror film It Follows with Trump standing behind Clinton (shown below).
The following day, The Huffington Post[3] released a supercut of Trump standing behind Clinton at the debate with the theme song from the 1992 horror film Jaws playing in the background (shown below).
On October 10th, NBC News[1] published an article titled “Trump Accused of ‘Stalking’ Clinton on Stage,” along with a tweet highlighting a photograph of Trump standing behind Clinton during the debate (shown below).[2] In the coming days, several other news sites published articles about the online reactions to the images, including The Daily Dot,[6] Vox[7] and UpRoxx.[8]
Search Interest
External References
[1]NBC News – Trump Accused of Stalking Clinton on Stage
[3]The Huffington Post – Heres a Supercut of Trump Lurking Behind Clinton
[6]The Daily Dot – Donald Trump stalked Hillary Clinton as an intimidation tactic
[7]Vox – Donald Trump couldnt stop lurking behind Hillary Clinton
[8]UpRoxx – Heres Donald Trump Creepily Lurking Uncomfortably Close To Hillary Clinton During The Debate
Donald Trump's Debate Chair
About
Donald Trump’s Debate Chair refers to a photoshop meme based on a picture of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump grasping a chair while standing behind rival Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during the second 2016 United States presidential debate in early October 2016.
Origin
During the presidential general election debate held on October 9th, 2016, co-founder of the American veteran news site Task and Purpose Brian Adam Jones tweeted a photo of Trump wearing an exasperated expression while standing behind Clinton grasping his chair (shown below).[1] Within 24 hours, the tweet gained over 17,900 likes and 9,900 retweets.
Spread
That evening, Redditor GandalfSwagOff submitted the image to /r/photoshopbattles,[2] where it gathered more than 7,800 votes (80% upvoted) and 600 comments in 24 hours, including many digitally edited versions of the image (shown below).
Meanwhile, Twitter user @ughHugs[8] posted the original photograph captioned with a mock dialogue in which Clinton says “I told you he’d fuck the chair” (shown below). Over the next day, the tweet garnered upwards of 97,000 likes and 51,000 retweets.
The following day, Twitter user @HucksGayBFF posted a GIF of Trump swaying into the chair during the debate with the caption asking if he got “consent from this chair” (shown below). In the coming days, several news sites published articles about online reaction to the picture, including UpRoxx,[6]The Daily Dot,[7] GQ,[3] Mashable[4] and Perez Hilton.[5]
— HuckabeesGayFriend (@HucksGayBFF) October 10, 2016
Search Interest
Not available.
External References
[2]Reddit – PsBattle – Donald Trump and his chair
[3]GQ – Why Was Donald Trump Holding on to His Chair Like That?
[4]Mashable – Trump and his debate chair get caught in the act
[5]Perez Hilton – Donald Trump Humped a Chair
[6]UpRoxx – This Special Moment Donald Trump Had With His Debate Chair Inspired A Hilarious Photoshop Battle
[7]The Daily Dot – This is the single best photo from the 2nd presidential debate
#HillaryFly
About
#HillaryFly is the nickname given to a house fly that landed on the face of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the second 2016 United States presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri on October 9th, 2016. Shortly after its on-screen appearance, many viewers on the social media became fixated with the fly, spawning a series of satirical jokes involving the fly and both of the candidates.
Origin
On the night of October 9th, 2016, at approximately 9:19 p.m. (EST), a house fly landed on the face of Hillary Clinton during her two-minute response to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s counter-accusations of misogyny against her husband and former United States president Bill Clinton at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1999.
CLINTON: Well, first, let me start by saying that so much of what he’s just said is not right, but he gets to run his campaign, [a fly lands on her face] any way he chooses. He gets to decide what he wants to talk about.
Spread
Within the very minute of the fly’s primetime on-screen debut, a slew of jokes about the bug’s unannounced on-screen cameo began to surface on Twitter, as well as a series of satirical remarks aimed at Hillary Clinton from her detractors and critics.
At 9:20 p.m., Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal tweeted a tongue-in-cheek PSA message about the fly. By 9:25 p.m., at least four novelty Twitter accounts dedicated to the fly had been launched under the names Hillary Clinton Fly,[2] "2016DebateFly,[3] DebateFly[4] and TheDebateFly[5]
Various Examples
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Search Interest
External References
[1]Twitter – Hashtag Results for #HillaryFly
[2]Twitter – HillaryClintonFly’s Account
[3]Twitter – 2016DebateFly’s Account
[4]Twitter – DebateFly’s Account
[5]Twitter – DebateFaceFly’s Account
[6]Facebook – Hashtag Results for #HillaryFly
[7]Business Insider – Fly lands on Hillary Clinton at debate
[8]TMZ– Hillary Clinton had a fly on her during the presidential debate
[9]CBS News – Was fly sending message when it landed on Hillary Clinton’s face?
[10]CNET– Fly that lands on Hillary Clinton at debate starts internet buzzing
[11]Heavy – Fly Lands on Hillary Clinton’s Face During Debate