#DatBoi - O Shit Waddup
Overview
Dat Boi was an absurdist meme featuring a low-quality 3D render of a frog riding a unicycle, accompanied by the catchphrase “O shit waddup!” The meme’s appeal lay in its complete randomness and inexplicable humor.
Origin
The frog-on-unicycle image was created by animation student Jared Moldenhauer for a game pitch in 2014. In January 2016, Tumblr user “heyinterstella” posted the image with the caption “here come dat boi” and it slowly gained traction.
By May 2016, the meme exploded across Twitter, Reddit, and other platforms, becoming one of the year’s biggest viral sensations.
Format
Standard:
- Image of the frog
- Text: “here come dat boi”
- Response: “o shit waddup!”
Variations:
- Different characters riding unicycles
- “Dat boi” used as a greeting
- Musical remixes
- Video edits
Cultural Impact
Dat Boi represented a shift toward post-ironic, absurdist humor that required no context or explanation. The meme’s meaninglessness was the point—pure absurdity as comedy.
The phrase “o shit waddup” entered internet vocabulary as:
- A greeting
- An expression of surprise
- A random interjection
- A way to signal meme fluency
Peak & Decline
May-July 2016: Explosive viral peak August 2016 onward: Rapid decline as the internet moved on
Like many absurdist memes, Dat Boi had a brief but intense lifespan.
Criticisms
Some argued the meme represented the decline of “good” memes—it had no clever wordplay, social commentary, or relatable content. Others argued this was precisely the point.
Legacy
Dat Boi influenced later absurdist memes like:
- Moths and Lamps (2018)
- Big Chungus (2018)
- Various surreal/random humor formats
The meme proved that in the age of Twitter and Reddit, humor didn’t need to make sense to go viral.
Related: #Pepe #SurrealMemes #AbsurdistHumor #MothsAndLamp
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