Quantcast
Channel: Know Your Meme Entries - Submissions
Viewing all 4028 articles
Browse latest View live

@HiddenCash Scavenger Hunt

0
0

Overview

@HiddenCash Scavenger Hunt is an ongoing treasure hunt for envelopes of cash planted across the city of San Francisco, California, which began on May 23rd, 2014. The clues to the locations of the hidden envelopes are announced via @HiddenCash, the event’s official Twitter account run by an anonymous millionaire who describes the game as a “social experiment for good.”

Background

The event was launched by an anonymous millionaire based in San Francisco, who describes himself as a real-estate magnate in the age range of 35 to 45 and says he started the hunt as a “way to give back to society after making millions in the city’s real estate market.” On May 23rd, 2014, the Twitter account HiddenCash[1] issued the first clue with a photograph of a small vegetable garden located on Page and Octavia Streets in the Hayes Valley.



The Twitter account, whose user is based in San Francisco, described the hunt in its Twitter bio:

“☼ An anonymous social experiment for good ☼ Real Cash hidden around SF & beyond. Find the $ – share tweetphoto + tag @hiddencash”


In less than one week, the account has gained over 260,000 followers.

Notable Developments

On the same day the Twitter account sent out it first tweet, The Bold Italic[4] published an article titled “$100 Bills Dropped Around SF By Anonymous Real Estate Magnate.” The article explained the person behind @HiddenCash had contacted them that morning to explain the scavenger hunt. When The Bold Italic questioned him, he gave a them a little information about his background, explaining he is a wealthy real estate agent from the San Francisco area. He went on to explain his motivation for holding the scavenger hunt, saying:

On the same day as the launch of @HiddenCash on Twitter, The Bold Italic[4] reported on the scavenger hunt in an article titled “$100 Bills Dropped Around SF By Anonymous Real Estate Magnate,” citing an anonymous tip it had received via e-mail from someone who claims to be a wealthy real estate agent looking to give back to the community:

“I’ve made millions of dollars the last few years, more than I ever imagined, and yet many friends of mine, and people who work for me, cannot afford to buy a modest home in the Bay Area. This has caused me quite a bit of reflection. I am determined to give away some of the money I make, and in addition to charity, to do it in fun, creative ways like this.”


News Media Coverage

In the following days, the citywide scavenger hunt was covered by several local news stations[5][9] and the Daily Mail,[3] and by May 28th, the story had reached major U.S. news outlets and internet culture news, including BuzzFeed,[6] The Washington Post[7] and CNN.[8] Following that boom in media coverage on May 28th, the account gained 100,000 new followers[2] in 24 hours.

Expansion

On May 25th, HiddenCash tweeted that he would drop money in Los Angeles the following weekend, and on May 27th, he tweeted he would drop money in San Jose on May 28th. He tweeted clues for four drops in San Jose on May 28th, and posted the clue for his first drop in Los Angeles on May 29th.



Notable Examples




Search Interest

External References


Fuck Her Right in the Pussy

0
0

About

“Fuck Her Right in the Pussy” is an obscene quote that gained much notoriety online after it was widely thought to have been said by a videobombing prankster during the live broadcast of a local news report in Cincinnati, Ohio. The stunt was eventually debunked as a viral hoax campaign orchestrated by filmmaker John Cain after a third video purported as a newscast blooper was posted to Reddit in May 2014.

Origin

On January 4th, 2014, Cincinnati-based filmmaker John Cain uploaded a video titled “Reporter fired for remarks about missing woman on LIVE TV” which shows a reporter for a FOX-affiliated local news station making inappropriate remarks on camera, including the line “I’ll fuck her right in the pussy.”



On January 7th, Cain’s video was highlighted by Ray William Johnson in an episode titled “Things That Kill,” giving further boost to its virality on YouTube. As of late May 2014, the video has garnered nearly 2 million views.

Spread

On February 13th, 2014, YouTuber John Cain uploaded a second video titled “Reporter interrupted during live broadcast,” which begins with a reporter for the Cincinnati news station WLWT-5 describing a train derailment, before he is suddenly interrupted by a mustached man in a black hoodie and sunglasses who grabs the microphone and yells “Fuck her right in the pussy!” (shown below). In the first four months, the video gained over 2.4 million views and 1,100 comments.



On the following day, Redditor AmIDoingThisRight29 submitted the video to the /r/youtubehaiku[1] subreddit, where it gained over 750 upvotes and 30 comments in three months. On April 7th, 2014, Tumblr user magnificentshibe[3] posted an audio file of the 2008 hip hop song “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. combined with a clip of the “Fuck her right in the pussy” quote. Within two months, the post garnered more than 49,000 notes.



On May 19th, 2014, Liveleak user cainpro uploaded a video titled “Man trolls news crew on Live TV,” featuring another news report in which the same man is interviewed by a reporter and says “I was sitting on my front porch, grabbed a beer and fuck her right in the pussy” (shown below). In two weeks, the video gathered over 990,000 views and 1,200 comments. On the same day, Redditor dragonsky submitted the video to the /r/videos[8] subreddit, where it garnered upwards of 24,750 upvotes and 1,200 comments.



In the comments section of the post, Redditor Ryan0617 claimed the videos had been faked and linked to a blog post[2] by video maker John Cain stating that he planned to make several viral videos in 2014. Following Ryan0617’s comment, both Gawker[6] and Mediate[7] published articles about the hoax videos, noting that Cain had begun selling “Fuck Her Right in the Pussy” T-shirts (shown below).



On May 22nd, Instagram[4] user mrgiveyogirlback posted a joke in which a screenshot of the “Fuck her right in the pussy” man is used to respond to a father asking “What are your intentions with my daughter?” (shown below). The same day, Tumblr user dylansmole[5] reblogged the Instagram post, receiving over 109,000 notes in the first week.



Search Interest

External References

Lance Stephenson Blowing in LeBron James' Ear

0
0

About

Lebron Stephenson Blowing in LeBron James’ Ear is a photoshop meme based on a close-up footage of the Indiana Pacers shooting guard trying to taunt the Miami Heat forward by breathing into his ear during the fifth game of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Origin

During Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat on May 28th, 2014, Indiana Pacers’ Lance Stephenson was caught on camera bending down next to his opponent Lebron James and gently blowing air into his left ear, to which the Miami Heat forward reacted by shaking his head in disapproval (shown below).



Immediately after the game, the sports blog Terez Owens tweeted a photoshopped screen capture of Stephenson blowing smoke rings.




Spread

Also on May 28th, 2014, ESPN SportsNation shared two photoshopped parodies of Stephens blowing on a birthday cake and a toy windmill via Instagram[2] (shown below). In less than 24 hours, the post received more than 8,800 likes.



That evening, Redditor _DukeSilver posted an animated GIF of the incident to the /r/funny[1] subreddit, where it gained over 5,900 upvotes and 160 comments in the first 24 hours (shown below, left). In the comments section, Redditor MisterOMinous submitted a photoshopped picture of Stephenson blowing into a NES video game cartridge (shown below, right).



On the following day, SBNation’s NBA-specific Twitter account[4] posted a photoshopped parody of Stephenson drinking a sundae ice cream from a straw with the cast of the popular sitcom television series Friends. In the first six hours, the tweet accumulated upwards of 1,000 retweets and 450 favorites. Also on May 29th, The Daily Dot[3] highlighted several notable examples from the photoshop series.




Notable Examples




Search Interest

Not available.

External References

Action 52

0
0

Editor’s Note: This entry is currently being worked on, feel free to request editorship

About

Action 52 is a unlicensed multicart video game that was made by Active Enterprises and was released for the NES in 1991 and the Genesis in 1993[1] that contains 52 games in one cartridge, the game was panned by several critics for the poor controls and several glitches

History

The concept of the game was developed when the creator saw his son playing an illegal product from Taiwan with 40 games in it, the creator decided to make a legal version of a product exactly like that

Reception

The game was a commercial failure and was panned by critics due to the poor controls and massive amount of glitches that are in the games, even with 2 of them often not starting and breaking the game

Angry Video Game Nerd

In 2010, The Angry Video Game Nerd uploaded a review of the game, panning the game for the poor controls and amount of glitches as well

Original Boxed NES Prototype Cartridge

In August 2012, one of the original developers of the game surprised the gaming community with a very rare original boxed NES prototype cartridge of the game that contained Action 52 and Cheetahman posters and artwork, it was auctioned on eBay at the price of $97,000

Planned SNES Release

A version of the game was planned to be released on the SNES, but it was cancelled for unknown reasons, most likely for how poorly the NES and Genesis versions did

Search Interest

External References

[1]Wikipedia – Action 52.

Summary Bug

0
0

About

Summary Bug is a single topic blog featuring odd instances of plot summaries for various films and TV shows available on Netflix that are drawn from two different text sources due to a glitch in the streaming application. More specifically, the bug combines the first four lines of a title synopsis with the last line taken from another title, often yielding an absurd and genre-bending premise for a story that has yet to be written.

Origin

On May 17th, 2014, Washington-based developer Bob Lannon launched @SummaryBug[1], a Netflix-themed novelty Twitter account devoted to spotting and highlighting a variety of grammatical errors or incoherencies found in the synopses of the available titles as a result of a software glitch. In less than a week of its launch, @SummaryBug reached more than 4,000 followers.



Spread

External References

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

0
0

Editor’s Note: This entry is currently being worked on, feel free to request editorship

About

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an 1980’s cartoon was been produced by Filmation based on Mattel’s successful toy line Masters of the Universe [1].

History

[wip]

Reception

[wip]

Related Memes

HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA/He-Man Sings

He-Man Sings is a nickname for a 2005 animated video titled “Fabulous Secret Powers” in which the fictional superhero character He-Man was sings a rendition of the 1993 4 Non Blondes hit “What’s Up?” It has since been reuploaded to YouTube numerous times and can also be found remixed and mashed up into other videos across the web. It can also be found on Synchtube as a trolling technique.

Search Interest

External References

Phrosties

0
0

About

Phrosties are brightly-colored, sugary alcoholic slushie-style beverages sold in New York City through an Instagram -based delivery service. In late May 2014, the service shut down under legal pressure from New York’s State Liquor Authority, which in turn quickly gave rise to D.I.Y recipes of the sugary alcoholic beverage on the web.

History

In June 2013,[2] the Instagram account Phrosties[1] was created. This was the only presence, web or otherwise, for the drink business. In order to be able to order a Phrostie, users had to be approved to follow the account. Once an Instagram user was approved to follow the account, they gained access to phone numbers assigned to each New York City borough. Users then would text the appropriate number, and a delivery man[4] would come to their location with a cooler of Phrosties of a variety of flavors priced at $10 each. As of early May 2014, the Instagram had gained over 12,000 followers.



Investigation

In a press conference held on May 26th, 2014, New York Senator Charles Schumer[10] expressed an interest in regulating and possibly shutting down the Phrosties Instagram, saying:

“A few weeks ago, I talked about powdered alcohol. I’m making an effort to prevent that from being sold. I would like to see the same thing happen to these ‘sloshies’ ” if they’re not regulated."

The same day Phrosties deleted its Instagram account,[11] resurrecting it the following day with all but two of its images removed. Also that day CBS[12] reported New York’s State Liquor Authority was investigating the business.

Reception

On April 28th, 2014, Swimmingly[5] published an article titled “We Ordered Illegal Alcoholic Slushies and (Barely) Lived to Tell the Tale.” The article described Phrosties as tasty and very strong, saying:

“Overall, the experience is like college in a bottle. The drinks were as frosty (phrosty?) as one would hope. And again, they were very, very strong.




On May 15th, Bedford and Bowery published an article titled “The Verdict on Phrosties: ‘Try This Psycho Juice While It Is Still Legal’,” and on May 20th, Grub Hub published an article titled “Phrosties: The Only Way to Get Phucked Up This Summer.”



While most reviews praised the taste and how quickly the drinks can get someone intoxicated, on May 27th, Bright Young Things[9] published an article titled “Taste Test: Phrosties,” which features a negative review:

“It was very, very not good. Actually, it might be good if you think this would be a solid idea: imagine placing cherry cough syrup, Popov vodka, a coconut air freshener and sadness into a blender with some ice. Does that sound good? If so, you will enjoy your Phrosty experience. If not, you will not enjoy your Phrosty experience, because it is exactly like that.”


DIY Recipes

After the Phrosties Instagram account was shut down after being brought under investigation by the New York State’s Liquor Authority, several sites published their own recipes to make Phrosties at home. On May 28th, Refinary29[6] published a guide titled “DIY Your Own Boozy Slushies.” The next day Buzzfeed[7] published a pictorial guide and The Daily Dot[8] published a guide explained through Vines.



Search Interest

External References

Kiiiihara-kuuuuuuuuun!!

0
0

About

Kiiiihara-kuuuuuuuuun!!” (Japanese: 木ィィィ原くゥゥゥゥゥゥゥゥン!!) is a famous utterance by Accelerator, one of the main characters in a Japanese light novel A Certain Magical Index. Shortly after an episode in the TV anime aired in February 2011, his maddish utterances and laugh became to a popular subject for MAD videos on the Japanese video sharing service Nico Nico Douga (NND).

Origin

“Kiiiihara-kuuuuuuuuun!!” is not a transcript from the anime but an actual line in the Academy City Invasion arc of the novels. The scene where Accelerator provokes Amata Kihara[1], an antagonist in this arc, with this maddish utterance appears on the 9th chapter in the arc included in the 13th volume of the novel released in April 2007. Meanwhile in the TV anime series, other Accelerator’s shouts in the battles with Kihara are also called as this line among viewers. The first footage for those “Kiiiihara” utterances is a trailer for the 2nd season which was published in August 2010 (shown below, left). Then, it appeared in 19th-22nd episodes aired on February to March 2011 (shown below, right).



Spread

Accelerator has been a popular subject for fan creations and parodies on NND[2] and pixiv[3] since before, and those mainly closed up his madness and lolicon nature, sometimes dubbed as “Accelolita” (アクセロリータ), which is derived from his relationship with Last Order[4]. In addition to this, this catchphrase joined onto the bandwagon by a MAD video utilizing "What Kind of Tree Is This Tree?", a famous song for TV adverts running over decades. This video was uploaded to NND on February 28th, 2011[5] and had been watched more than 1 million times within its first week. Nowadays “Kiiiihara-kuuuuuuuuun!!” is the most essential vocal resource for the video parodies for that dark hero.[6]



Notable Examples


Niconico とっとこクソ野郎Niconico アクセラレータのパーフェクトさんした教室
Left: An Opening Theme Song for Hamtaro | Right: Cirno’s Perfect Mass Class
Niconico きィはらふァンくらぶ【とある魔術の禁書目録】Niconico クソ魔女せろり
Left: Vocaloid Song “1, 2 Fanclub” | Right: Ojamajo Carnival!!

Search Interest

External References

Editor’s Note: Registration is needed to browse the original videos listed in this section.

[1]Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki – Kihara Amata

[2]niconico Douga – Search results for the tag 一方通行(アクセラレータ)

[3]pixiv – Search results for the tag アクセラレータ OR 一方通行

[4]Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki – Last Order

[5]niconico Douga – この木 なんの木 木ィィィ原くゥゥゥゥゥゥゥゥン!! / Posted on 02-28-2011 (Defunct)

[6]niconico Douga – Search results for the tag 木ィィィ原くゥゥゥゥゥゥゥゥン!!


What Kind of Tree Is This Tree?

0
0

About

What Kind of Tree Is This Tree?” (Japanese: この木なんの木, Kono Ki Nanno Ki) is an alias of “Hitachi Tree” (日立の樹, Hitachi No Ki), a famous TV advert song for a Japanese major engineering and electronics company Hitachi.[1] Due to its large presence among Japanese people, this song has been one of the well-used musical resources for online parodies since late-2000s.

Origin

The song “Hitachi Tree” was composed by Asei Kobayashi[2] who also composed "Humans are Nice", and its lyrics was written by Akira Itou.[3] This song is played in Hitachi’s famous TV advert running from 1973, which is an image advert which just displays names of Hitachi’s group companies/branches in each regions before a backdrop of a large tree. And because the lyrics begins from the line “What kind of tree is this tree?”, this song is better known as this alias among many Japanese people.


<!--
dummy {dummy:dummy}
table.list {width:600px;border:1px solid #999}
table.list tr:nth-child(even) {background-color:#f3f3f3}
table.list th, table.list td {padding:5px;margin:10px;vertical-align:middle;border-bottom:1px solid #999}
table.list th, table.list td {border-right:1px solid #999}
table.list th:nth-last-of-type(1), table.list td:nth-last-of-type(1) {border-right:none}
-->

Japanese (Romanized)
English Translation

kono ki nanno ki kininaru ki
What kind of tree is this tree? It’s a curious tree.

namaemo shiranai ki desukara
Because it’s a tree which name is unknown,

namaemo shiranai ki ni narudeshou
it will make one which we never know.

 
 

konoki nanno ki kininaru ki
What kind of tree is this tree? It’s a curious tree.

mitakotomo nai ki desukara
Because it’s a tree which we’ve never seen,

mitakotomo nai hana ga sakudeshou
it will bloom with flowers we’ve never seen.

 
 

ituka ha ga sigette miki ga ookiku sodatte
Leaves grow thick, Trunks grow big

ne wo hirogete mori ni naru hi ga mirai
Roots spread out. Then it become to forest. This is the future.

sonohi wo sonohi wo minnna de machimashou
Let us, Let us wait for the day together.

yumemite yumemite sonohi wo machimashou
Let us, Let us dream of the day together.

 
 

kono ki nanno ki kininaru ki
What kind of tree is this tree? It’s a curious tree.

nanntomo fushigina ki desukara
Because it’s so mysterious tree,

nanntomo fushigina ki ni narudeshou
it will make one mysterious.

 
 

kono ki nanno ki kininaru ki
What kind of tree is this tree? It’s a curious tree.

minna ga atsumaru ki desukara
Because it’s a tree where everyone gathers,

minna ga atsumaru mi ga narudeshou
it will bear fruits which gather everyone.

 
 

hito wa kite tatazumi tori wa tsubasa wo yasumete
People come and relax, Birds perch on.

kaze wa soyogi hoshi ga mawareba utyu
Wind breathes, Stars go on. This is the universe.

sonohi mo sonohi mo anata ni aimashou
Let us Let us meet again in the day.

konoki no konoki no shita de aimashou
Let us Let us meet under this tree.


The tree in the adverts is also known as the “Hitachi Tree”, and the most famous one is a monkeypod which grows in Moanalua Gardens, Hawaii.[4] Hitach, officially recognizes that tree which has appeared on the adverts since 1984 as its corporate symbol[5], has the agreement of the exclusive right in commercial uses for the tree with the owner of the park.

Spread

“What Kind of Tree Is This Tree?” has been sometimes used in video parodies, especially in MAD videos, since after the Japanese video sharing service Nico Nico Douga (NND) was launched in 2007.[6] Several earliest instances featuring THE iDOLM@STER[7] or Futae no Kiwami[8] were already found in that year.

The most famous MADs in this series was uploaded on February 28th 2011[9], which features "Kiiiihara-kuuuuuuuuun!!", a famous utterance by Accelerator from a Japanese TV anime A Certain Magical Index. This video had been watched over 1 million times within its first week, and nowadays it’s recognized as the template for this series.



On the other hand, this MAD series is also famous for Hitachi’s quite strange deletion criteria which has continued removing videos due to the infringement to their right for the tree. Dozens of famous parody videos have been taken down for a single tree even though some of them pixelated its picture.

Notable Examples


Niconico この木 何の木 保坂の木
Left: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure feat. It was Me, Dio![10] | Right: Hosaka the Weirdo
Niconico この気なんの気【ブロリーMAD】Niconico この日なんの日
Left: Broly | Right: Nenohi from Kantai Collection

Search Interest

External References

Editor’s Note: Registration is needed to browse the original videos listed in this section.

[1]Wikipedia – Hitachi

[2]Wikipedia – 小林亜星 (Japanese)

[3]Wikipedia – 伊藤アキラ (Japanese)

[4]Wikipedia – Moanalua Gardens

[5]HITACHIThe Hitachi Tree (Official Page)

[6]niconico Douga – Search results for the tag この木なんの木

[7]niconico Douga – アイドルマスター 【クイズダービー】と【この木何の木】に出演する! / Posted on 07-03-2007

[8]niconico Douga – この木なんの木フタエノキ / Posted on 09-26-2007 (Defunct)

[9]niconico Douga – この木 なんの木 木ィィィ原くゥゥゥゥゥゥゥゥン!! / Posted on 02-28-2011 (Defunct)

[10]niconico Douga – この木 なんの木 このディオだぁぁぁぁ!! / Postedo n 11-23-2012 (Defunct)

Ceremonial First Pitches

0
0

About

Ceremonial First Pitches is a baseball tradition in which a guest of honor throws a baseball to a catcher to mark the beginning of the game. Since the arrival of online video-sharing platforms in the 2000s, a variety of video clips showing bizarre, impressive and poorly thrown pitches have gone viral online, especially during the baseball season in the summer and fall.

Origin

In 1908, the first ceremonial first pitch was thrown by former Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu at a game in Koshien, Japan. In 1910, the American ritual began at the Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., where the 27th President of the United States William Howard Taft threw a ceremonial first pitch at an Opening Day game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Athletics.

Spread

On April 2nd, 2007, former mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio Mark Mallory threw a pitch that flew 30 feet to the left of home plate, hitting umpire Sam Holbrook in the foot (shown below, left). In May 2008, singer Mariah Carey threw an opening pitch at a game in Tokyo, Japan, which fell to the ground well before reaching home plate (shown below, right).



On May 4th, 2010, pop singer Justin Bieber threw a pitch that flew slightly outside home plate. A video was subsequently uploaded by YouTuber cspanjunkievideo, which gathered over 2.06 million views and 7,800 comments in the next four years (shown below, left). On June 25th, YouTuber Richard Dargan uplodaed a montage of 10 ceremonial pitch fails, garnering upwards of 1.4 million views and 1,500 comments in the next four years (shown below, right).



Korean First Pitches

On May 11th, 2012, member of the K-pop band Girls’ Generation Jessica Jung threw a ceremonial first pitch directly at the ground before a LG vs. Samsung Korean Baseball Organization game (shown below, left). On May 3rd, 2013, Korean actress Clara Lee made headlines after delivering a first pitch while wearing a pair of baseball-themed tights (shown below, right).



On May 6th, Girls’ Generation member Tiffany Hwang threw a first pitch which veered off course to the left at a Los Angeles Dodgers game (shown below, left). On July 5th, gymnast Shin Soo-ji threw a first pitch in which she performed an impressive spinning-kick move at the Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, South Korea (shown below, right).



On August 14th, ballerina Lee Eun did mid-air split dance while throwing a first pitch at Jamsil Stadium (shown below, left). On August 17th, martial artist Tae Mi threw a spinning leg kick first pitch at Jamsil Stadium (shown below, right).



Carly Rae Jepsen Pitch

On July 14th, 2013, pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen threw the first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles game, which fell to the ground several feet in front of her. On the same day, Redditor samk0526 submitted an animated GIF of the pitch to the /r/funny[1] subreddit, where it received more than 13,100 upvotes and 950 comments prior to being archived.



50 Cent Pitch

On May 27th, 2014, rapper 50 Cent threw a first pitch which veered well off course to the left at a Mets Game (shown below). That evening, Redditor moustachio-banderas submitted a clip of the pitch to the /r/sports[4] subreddit, where it gathered upwards of 4,100 upvotes and 940 comments.



On May 29th, The Washington Post’s Wonk Blog[2] posted a chart of the “best and worst ceremonial first pitches,” which placed 50 Cent’s pitch the farthest outside the pitcher’s mound (shown below).



Search Interest

External References

#FreeTheNipple

0
0

Overview

#FreeTheNipple is a Twitter hashtag campaign introduced by Scout Willis, daughter of actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, to protest Instagram’s content moderation policy on nudity that resulted in the removal of several photographs she had uploaded to her account.

Background

On May 20th, 2014, Scout Willis sent out a tweet[1] expressing her frustration over Instagram’s removal of a photograph she had shared because it featured[2] a jacket decorated with a picture of two topless woman. She also expressed frustration over Instagram’s strict policy against nudity, insisting that it seems to be at odds with its comparatively lax restrictions against photos featuring drug use.



On May 26th, she tweeted,[3]“Well, let’s just see how long they let me stay this time…,” referencing photos she had just posted to her Instagram account which featured women’s nipples. The next day she tweeted an e-mail from Instagram informing her they had removed the photos for not meeting their guidelines.



Precursors

On December 2nd, 2013, Lina Esco created a page on the crowdsourcing website Fund Anything[9] for her film Free the Nipple, which focused on women fighting for the right to go topless in New York City. The film was covered by many websites including The Huffington Post[10] and Oyster Mag.[11] On December 14th, Miley Cyrus tweeted out a photo of herself with her shirt raised to expose her (censored) chest to the film’s Twitter account.[12] As of May 2014, the tweet has gained over 27,000 retweets and over 30,000 favorites.



Notable Developments

Topless Photos in New York City

The same day, she tweeted out two photos of herself walking through New York City without a shirt, with the second tweet introducing the hashtag #FreeTheNipple. In less than a week the later tweet gained over 2,000 retweets and over 2,000 favorites.

The same day she tweeted out two photos of herself walking through New York City without a shirt, with the second tweet introducing the hashtag #FreeTheNipple. In less than a week the later tweet gained over 2,000 retweets and over 2,000 favorites.



News Media Coverage

The the same day Willis tweeted out her topless photos the hashtag was covered by Gawker.[5] In the following days the hashtag was covered by many news websites including New York Daily News[6], CNN[7] and The Daily Beast.[8] Following the media coverage, the hashtag #FreeThe Nipple[4] was tweeted out over 20,000 times in less than a week.

Search Interest

External References

#RedskinsPride

0
0

Overview

#RedskinsPride is a hashtag launched by the Washington Redskins professional American football team urging followers to tweet their support for the team’s controversial name to Nevada Democratic Senator Harry Reid on Twitter. The hashtag was subsequently hijacked by critics who found the ethnic slur for Native Americans offensive in May 2014.

Background

Washington Redskins Naming Controversy

In 1933, the Boston Braves football team name was change to the Redskins by co-owner George Preston Marshall. According to the Boston Herald, the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Braves baseball team and to recognize coach William Henry “Lone Star” Dietz’ claimed Native American ancestry. The origin of the slang term “redskin” has been claimed by some as a reference to Native American skin tone by settlers, while others argue it was used in reference to body paint worn by certain tribes.



In 1988, the first national protest against the name were held following the Redskins’ Super Bowl XXII victory. In 1992, Native American in Minnesota protested the team’s name at Super Bowl XXVI. Interest in changing the Redskins name was renewed in 2013, with Native American protests held in Texas, Colorado and Minnesota. On the March 26th, 2014, The Colbert Report featured a segment titled “The Sport Report” in which Stephen Colbert mocked Redskins owner Daniel Snyder for maintaining his team’s offensive name. After the @ColbertReport Twitter feed posted a quote of Colbert lampooning Snyder’s contradictory stance, Twitter user Suey Park launched the #CancelColbert hashtag in retaliation.

Harry Reid vs. Washington Redskins

On April 30th, 2014, Nevada Democratic Senator Harry Reid condemned the then-owner of Los Angeles Clippers Don Sterling’s racist remarks and went a step further to criticize the NFL and the Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder for refusing to change the team’s name from the controversial ethnic slur for Native Americans. On May 22nd, Reid released a letter signed by fifty Democratic senators calling for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to take action against the Redskins.[1]



#RedskinsPride

On May 29th, the Washington Redskins Twitter feed posted a request for Twitter users to tell Reid what “the team means to you.” In the first 24 hours, the tweet gained over 550 retweets and 300 favorites.




Notable Developments

Support

The hashtag was initially used by fans showing support for keeping the Redskins name, with many criticizing Reid and Democrats for choosing to target the professional football team.




Backlash

Several minutes after the Redskins tweeted the hashtag, BuzzFeed politics reporter Andrew Kaczynski retweeted the post adding “Don’t do this to yourselves.”




Minutes later, blogger Jeb Lund replied to the Redskins with a photograph of the Wounded Knee Massacre and comedian Rob Delaney posted a tweet noting that Hitler studied American Indian reservations. In the first 24 hours, the tweets received more than 400 and 600 retweets respectively.




On May 30th, the sports marketing blog Emory Sports Marketing Analytics[2] posted a chart tracking the hourly Twitter mentions of the hashtag along with the hourly sentiment changes, noting that negative tweets eventually surpassed positive tweets 4:1. According to the Twitter analytics site Topsy,[3] the hashtag was tweeted over 21,000 times within the first 24 hours.



News Media Coverage

In the comings days, many news sites published articles about the hashtag backlash referring to it as a “social media disaster,” including Today,[4] The Washington Post,[5] BuzzFeed,[6] The Daily Dot,[7] Salon,[8] UpRoxx[9] and CBS News.[10]

Notable Examples




Search Interest

Not available.

External References

Lizzie Velasquez

0
0

About

Lizzie Velásquez is an author and motivational speaker who is known for speaking against bullying and body image issues inspired by growing up with a rare medical condition with symptoms similar to progeria.

Online History

On July 22nd, 2010, Velásquez’ book Lizzie Beautiful, the Lizzie Velásquez Story[1] was released. On March 1st, 2012, Velásquez’ second book Be Beautiful, Be You[2] was published. On December 20th, 2013, Velásquez uploaded her TEDxAustin presentation in which she discusses her medical condition and what it has done for her (shown below). In the first six months, the video gained over 5.9 million views and 8,100 comments.



Kickstarter Campaign

On May 2nd, 2014, Velásquez launched a Kickstarter[3] campaign titled “The Lizzie Project” for a film following Lizzie’s life and experiencing dealing with bullying in hopes to “inspire a more positive online world” (shown below). In the first month, the campaign reached over $200,000 of its $180,000 goal.



Personal Life

Velásquez was born four weeks prematurely on March 13th, 1989 in Austin, Texas. She is a self-professed Roman Catholic and has thanked God for blessing her with her medical condition

Search Interest

External References

Uber Hax

0
0


About

Uber Hax refers to a series of YTMNDs involving memorable fight scenes and real-world conflicts being reinterpreted as escapades in a Massively Multiplayer Online video game, musically accompanied with E.S. Posthumus’s “Pompeii”. 1337 Speak is commonly used along with terms commonly used in competitive gaming, and references to hacking the game itself is often prominent.[1]

Origin

The original YTMND, simply entitled “Uber New Hax”, was created by user Bumbastic on July 31st, 2005.[2] It used footage from the 2002 film Spider-Man, and depicted a storyline in which Norman Osborn team-kills and bans his former Oscorp clan members after being kicked out of leadership duties (shown below). The YTMND went on to gather over 1,900 votes (with a site average of 4.21/5.00), over 160 favorites, over 450 comments, and over 260,000 views.[3]


Spread

The first variant of the YTMND fad was made by user Mojocoggo on August 16th, 2005, based on the 2003 movie Phone Booth.[4] The next day, Mojocoggo uploaded another site based on the first half of the film version of To Kill A Mockingbird.[5] During the month of September 2005, user Fyrestorm uploaded a duology of “Uber Hax” sites based on the Hurricane Katrina[6] and Hurricane Rita[7] disasters that had occurred earlier that year, eventually creating a director’s cut that combined the two sites and added new scenes.[8] Eventually, on July 11th, 2006, user Nutnics created a site based on the fad that combined the 1988 anime film AKIRA with several other YTMND fads (shown below).[9]


Search Interest


External References

Cold Water Challenge

0
0

About

The Cold Water Challenge/24 Hour Cold Water Challenge is a challenge where you jump into a lake of cold water and nominate someone else to do it.

Online History

Jumping into ice/cold water has been done several upon millions of times. It is usually done as a dare or a test of courage. Even if the challenge is very life threatening because of the water being dangerously cold. Which can cause death from hypothermia, shock, or drowning if the water’s too deep. Never the less the challenge has gone viral and more and more people are attempting the stunt despite the warnings. To make the challenge try to seem more positive, it is often used for charity making people who attempt it pay $10 and the people that don’t pay $100, so the stunt doesn’t seem so pointless. Despite their efforts the challenge still receives a bad name due to teenagers being injured, and even killed by the challenge. Making parents urge more caution on their kids that want to try the challenge.
(Still researching)

Reception

Being one of the next viral challenges. It unsurprisingly got mixed reactions from the challenge being one of the most dangerous.


Orange is the New Black

0
0

About

Orange is the New Black is an American comedic TV drama which follows an upper class white woman as she serves her time in a minimum security women’s prison. The show was produced and released through the video streaming service Netflix. The series’ first quickly gained acclaim for its diverse cast and its well-rounded female characters.

History

The show was loosely based on the 2011 memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, which chronicles the year author Piper Kerman spent in a low security women’s prison in Connecticut. The series was renewed[1] for a second season on June 27th, 2013, two weeks before its first season was released through Netflix on July 11th. On May 5th, 2014, the show was renewed[2] for a third season. Its second season is scheduled to premiere on June 6th.

Premise

Orange is the New Black follows Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) as she enters a low security women’s prison for smuggling drugs into the country for her then-girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon) ten years prior to the opening of the series. Now engaged and living in New York City, Chapman vows to do her time (15 months) and keep her head down, but she’s quickly dragged into the drama and politics of the prison. Main characters included Tiffany ‘Pennsatucky’ Doggett (Taryn Manning), a Christian inmate, Red (Kate Mulgrew) the prison cook, and transgender inmate Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox).



Reception

Orange is the New Black received a score of 8.5 on IMDB[3] and a rating of 79 on Metacritic.[4] It has been nominated for one Golden Globe in 2014 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Television Series (Taylor Schilling). It has also been nominated for two Television Critics Association Awards in 2014 for Program of the Year and Outstanding New Program.

Online Presence

As of June 2014, Orange is the New Black’s official Twitter[5] account has over 230,000 followers, its Facebook[6] page has over 1.1 million likes and its Instagram account[8] has over 180,000 followers.. Fans can access episode guides and character sketches at the show’s Wikia.[7]



Fandom

In addition to the show’s branded web presence there are several fan-run sites for Orange is the New Black including oitnb-fan[18] and oitnb.[19] There are numerous fan-run Tumblr blogs dedicated to the Orange is the New Black fandom including fyeahorangeisthenewblack[9], Orangeis[15] and orange--black.[16] Popular Tumblr tags fans use to tag their content include OITNB[12] and orange-is-the-new-black.[13] Fans also gather is discuss the show on the Reddit[17] thread /r/OrangeistheNewBlack/, which has over 11,000 subscribers as of June 2014. As of June 2014, there are over 27,000 pieces of fan art tagged Orange is the New Black on DeviantArt.[11]



Chapman and Vause

A lot of Orange is the New Black fanart surrounds girlfriends Piper Chapman and Alex Vause, a favorite couple within the fandom. Fan-run Tumblr blogs dedicated to the couple include be-my-little-spoon[21] and fuckyeahchapmanvause[22]. On May 30th, 2014, Flavorwire published a round-up titled “‘Orange Is the New Black’: The Internet’s Best Piper/Alex Fan Art.”



Search Interest

External References

[1]Deadline – Netflix Renews ‘Orange Is The New Black’ For Second Season

[2]Deadline – ‘Orange Is The New Black’ Renewed For Season 3

[3]IMDBOrange Is The New Black

[4]Metacritic – Orange Is The New Black

[5]Twitter – OITNB

[6]Facebook – OITNB

[7]Wikia – Orange is the New Black

[8]Instagram – oitnb

[9]Tumblr – fyeahorangeisthenewblack

[10]Tumblr – fyeahorangeisthenewblack

[11]DeviantArt – Orange is the New Black

[12]Tumblr – oitnb

[13]Tumblr – orange-is-the-new-black

[14]Tumblr – orangeis

[15]Tumblr – orange--black

[16]Fanfiction.net – Orange is the New Black

[17]Reddit – orangeisthenewblack

[18]OitnbFan – oitnb-fan

[19]Oitnb – oitnb

fn 20. Flavorwire – ‘Orange Is the New Black’: The Internet’s Best Piper/Alex Fan Art

fn 21. Tumblr – be-my-little-spoon

fn 22. Tumblr – fuckyeahchapmanvause

Pi Symbol Trademark Controversy

0
0

Overview

Pi Symbol Trademark Controversy refers to the removal of several T-shirt designs bearing the mathematical constant “π” from Zazzle[3] after the online retailer was issued a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer representing Paul Ingrisano, a New York City artist who obtained the trademark on the Greek letter, in May 2014.

Background

On November 21st, 2012, the founder of the Brooklyn-based apparel company Pi Apparels Paul Ingrisano[1] filed a trademark request for the symbol “π” followed by a period punctuation mark. The trademark was registered on January 28th, 2014.[2]



On May 16th, 2014, Zazzle received a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer representing Ingrisano, who demanded the online retailer to remove an array of merchandises bearing the Pi symbol.



Online Reaction

On May 28th, Zazzle Forums[4] member Quidama submitted a thread title “Mathematical ‘Pi’ Symbol is Trademarked?”, noting that several designs containing the π symbol had been removed from the site. The same day, artist Jez Kemp criticized Zazzle in a post on his personal blog[5] for removing his designs containing the symbol. On May 29th, artist Dave Lartique published a blog post[6] calling the Zazzle takedowns “asinine.”

Zazzle’s Response

On May 29th, a staff member at Zazzle responded to the forum post, explaining that the items were temporarily pulled out as they continued to evaluate the legal basis of the complaint. On June 1st, many of the T-shirt designs had been restored on the site.[3]

News Media Coverage

In the coming days, several tech news sites published articles about the backlash to the trademarked symbol, including.The Daily Dot,[7]CNET[8] and Wired.[9]

Search Interest

Not available.

External References

Luigi's Death Stare

0
0

About

Luigi’s Death Stare is a meme originating from the eighth instalment of the Mario Kart franchise, Mario Kart 8, featuring the character Luigi making a number of uncomfortable looks during gameplay of the game. After these scenes were posted online, the meme grew in popularity, spawning many parodies.

Origin

The meme originates from a video titled “Waluigi vs Luigi” (shown below, left), which was posted to Youtube by YouTuber Rizupicorr[1] on May 30, 2014, showing a section of a highlight reel in which Luigi knocks out Waluigi using a green shell, before giving him an uncomfortable stare as he continues to drive past, and gained over 60,000 views. Another video, titled “Mario Kart 8 – Luigi’s Death Stare” was also posted to Youtube the same day by user Mega Beardo[2](shown below, right), featuring Luigi attempting to overtake Mario, gaining over 5,000 views.



Spread

The meme did not grow in popularity until May 31, when Youtuber CZbwoi[3] posted a parody of the video using the original clip (shown below), showing the scene alongside the 2006 song Ridin’ by Chamillionaire. As of June 2, the video has over 400,000 views and over 11,000 likes.



Them meme further grew in popularity after a post titled “Luigi Death Stare” featuring a GIF of the scene was posted to Reddit’s r/gaming board on June 1[4]. The post received a positive reception from the community, garnering over 3,000 upvotes and over 800 comments, enticing other users to post parodies of their own. The topic was soon brought up on a number of different gaming forums and news sites, such as The Independent[5], IGN[6], Polygon[7] and N4G[8].

Notable Examples



External References

Digital Image Stabilization

0
0

About

Digital Image Stabilization is the practice of shifting electronic images frame by frame to counteract camera movement made during recording.

Origin

On April 19th, 2011, Redditor Juu-hachi submitted an animated GIF featuring a stabilized clip from the Patterson-Gimlin of an unidentified subject purported to be the cryptid known as “Bigfoot” to the /r/pics[2] subreddit (shown below). Prior to being archived, the post received over 500 upvotes and 70 comments.



Spread

On November 5th, 2013, the /r/ImageStabilization[1] subreddit was launched for requests and submissions of stabilized video, gaining over 14,300 subscribers in the first six months. On February 19th, 2014, the arts and technology news blog The Creators Project[3] published an article about stabilized images, which highlighted several notable examples posted to Reddit.

Notable Examples



Search Interest

External References

Colin Furze

0
0

About

Colin Furze is an English YouTube vlogger who creates engineering videos in which he builds and improves upon machines. He is best known for a viral video featuring a jet powered bike he created and dubbed the “most dangerous unsafe bike.”

Online History

Colin Furze, a plumber and inventor from Stamford, England, created his self titled YouTube channel[2] on November, 15th, 2006. He uploaded his first video on February 5th, 2007, which features Furze dressed as Mr. Blobby, a character from the British television show Noel’s House Party, jumping onto a row of shopping carts a worker was leading through a parking lot. As of June 2014, the video has gained over 72,000 views.



As of June 2014, the channel’s most viewed video is titled “The JET Bicycle – The most dangerous unsafe bike EVER,” which was uploaded on June 6th, 2013. The video features Furze riding a bicycle which he outfitted with two flame throwing jets, which allowed it to gain speeds of 50 mph. The video was covered by many websites including The Telegraph[4], The Daily Mail[5] and The Huffington Post UK.[6] As of June 2014, the video has gained over 6.2 million views.



On April 15th, 2014, Furze announced (below, left) that he would be uploading a series of videos in May in which he created inventions to mimic some of the powers of the X-Men characters from the Marvel universe. On May 15th, he uploaded his first video in the series titled “DIY X-MEN Making WOLVERINESCLAWS,” (below, right) which shows how he created retractable metal claws. As of June 2014, the video has gained over 470,000 views.



Over the course of the month Furze uploaded seven videos, including three X-Men projects (Wolverine claws, Pyro flame throwers, and Magnito ceiling shoes) and four behind the scenes prep-videos. As of June 2014, the most watched video in the series is titled “DIY X-MENWOLVERINE fully automatic claws,” (below, left) which was uploaded on May 15th, and has gained over 4.6 million views. The second highest viewed video is titled “DIY X-MENMAGNETO walking upside down with magnetic shoes,” which was uploaded on May 22nd, 2014, and has gained over 1.4 million views.



The series was covered by several websites including Metro[7], The Huffington Post[8] and TechCrunch.[9]

Reputations

As of June 2014, Furze’s YouTube Channel[2] has over 440,000 subscribers. His official Twitter account[1] has over 2,000 followers and his Facebook page[3] has gained over 10,000 likes.

Notable Examples



Search Interest



External References

Viewing all 4028 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images