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HA! HA! I'm using the internet!!!1
YOU'RE USING THE INTERNET!!!1
- Date Discovered: 2003
- Discovered On: Unknown
Summary
The HA! HA! Guy is one of the oldest and most contagious memes on the internets. It is remarkable for both it's longevity and the embarrassing internet war that broke out between two camps that became locked in a heated (and to neutral onlookers - excruciating) debate concerning what the caption Forbes' Insoluble Dry Plates actually referred to.
In the red corner
The Dental camp were adamant that this referred to some sort of dental plates.
In the blue corner
The Photographic camp were positive that it referred to photographic plates.
Everyone else
Couldn't believe anyone was actually arguing about this shit.
The facts
- The words 'photographic' and 'supplies' in reverse are faintly visible on the image. Hmm, thought provoking.
- Forbes actually was a manufacturer of photographic equipment (see image below).
- Needing to state that dental plates are 'insoluble' is idiotic.
And the winner is
Well, the facts would seem to hand the photographic camp an unassailable victory - but let's face it, nobody came out of this looking like a winner.
Longevity
The staying power of this meme is particularly notable considering it is one of (if not the) most overused image macros in the history of the internet. This is perhaps due to the potency of the original image. Even before internet denizens got their hands on it the stark juxtaposition between the lively engraving of the laughing Quaker and the banality of the subject matter had a unique quality of its own.
Origins
Started at Something Awful and spread to Fark, where it was spammed incessantly. In a shock plot twist The Daily Quaker blog started selling whiteboards with the meme printed on them, and HA! HA! Guy ran amok IRL for a thankfully brief period.
Current status
Old meme. But still pops up now and then.
Images
 FORBES PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES |
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 The engraving and the original painting. |
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Related Pages
External Links
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