Good news, everyone: The Memepocalypse has finally happened. All of modern human culture is fully saturated with pictures of goofy dogs, jokes about Sean Bean, and the Internet’s entire supply of Impact font. Now, it’s time to look to the entertainments and amusements of humanity’s past to see if there’s some way we can shove a few Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes in there, too.
The pinball experts at British game room retailer Liberty Games have made a strong start in that direction by converting a 1975 Segasa “Baby Doll” pinball table into “Meme Ball,” a repository for all of human culture’s hopes and dreams and grumpy faced cats. Using 3D printers, a Raspberry Pi computer, and a lot of hard work, Liberty Games has created the only pinball machine in the world that features a “Winter is coming” reference and Rickrolls you when you lose a ball. The overall impression given by the fully functional table is a chaotic grab bag of random jokes and visual elements, all hurled at the viewer’s eyes in a desperate bid for recognition and attention—in other words, a perfect embodiment of “meme culture.” It’s a first step into converting the relics of the past into something relatable to modern eyes, creating a glorious future where we can all haz cheeseburger.