The hot new meme has been found and it’s about two of the internet’s very favorite things: nostalgia and The Simpsons. By combining memories of the heady days of pre-BitTorrent file sharing and classic scenes from the cartoon series, mad image tinkerers have brewed up a potent mix designed to take the online world by storm. Here, for your consideration, are Simpsons screen shots edited to be about mid-2000s piracy software, Limewire.
Each version of this joke is a variation on the following: Limewire download results—and specifically Limewire download results found by enterprising teenagers in search of the latest nü-metal tracks—were basically always entire herds of virus-packing Trojan horses. Blend this with Simpsons scenes and you get bizarre, wonderful results.
For example:
All of these follow pretty much the same formula, knowing that straying too far from the ingredients list might change the hyper-effective meme outcome. Many, for instance, reference Limewire file names where supposed MP3s were obviously computer-busting program executables with the .exe extension left on them by brazen, asshole uploaders.
A few take a broader approach, embracing the general premise of Limewire being an opt-in virus portal, just waiting to infuriate parents wanting to hop on a functioning family computer to read the news, check stocks, or whatever else old people used the mid-‘00s internet for.
Thankfully, signs point to there being further citrus-y juice still left to wring from the format, like, say … slightly different jokes about Limewire naming conventions.
While niche in topic, the Limewire and Simpsons combination has enough nostalgic appeal to live on for at least another two weeks of bright-burning internet fame. The premise may have seemed too weird and specific for people to latch on to, but it’s impossible to underestimate the appeal of weirdly specific stuff when it’s combined with The Simpsons. Next up, if we want to field predictions, will probably be something revolving around Winamp or RealPlayer.
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