this post was submitted on 16 May 2024
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Antique Memes Roadshow
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Giving you the backstory and appraisals of vintage memes!
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'Going Viral' wasn't a term yet and 'Meme' didn't yet mean what it does today, but as someone who was a nerdy teen in the geocities era, this is the first thing I remember that started on the internet and reached a truly mass audience.
Can anyone think of any earlier example of an internet meme going viral?
Back when meme transmission was "hey, did you get that e-mail? I'll forward it to you the next time I log on"
Back when your grandma would print out an email chain letter and bring it to your house.
When I got this back in the day the subject line was something like:
Fw: Fw: Re: Fw: Fw: ad infinitum