To Roll or Not to Roll

Step one, click this link.

For those of you that fell for that consider yourself Rick Roll’d. For those of you that didn’t, just wait I will get you yet.

For those that know these kinds of things “Rick Rolling” is a what is referred to a “Meme”.

A Meme is an idea, a phrase or in some cases a program that is spread from person to person. Think of it as a contagious idea. In the case of “Rick Rolling” it is an internet meme, which implies that it is transmitted across the internet. At least it was originally spread this way.

If you were to trace the Rick Roll back to it’s orgin you find that it began at 4Chan.org as “Duck roll’d”. To be Duck Roll’d would imply that you followed a link or looked at a picture that was labeled as one thing, then turned out to be a duck with wheels attached to it.

Duck Rolling then evolved into Rick Rolling. In Rick Rolling the duck is replaced with Rick Astley singing his hit from the 80′s “Never Gonna Give you Up”.

This in and of itself, is not that interesting, but what is intriguing is that the individual that first Rick Roll’d a 4chan thread has been lost, but the popularity of Rick Rolling has increased steadily over the years.

As it stands right now there is a debate over what the largest Rick Roll actually was.

In 2008 Rick Astley appeared in the Macy’s Day Parade and Roll’d the entire crowd.

At the Democratic National Convention a gentleman in the back came equipped with a large sign that proudly displayed “Never Gonna Give You Up”.

Currently the largest recored Rick Roll belongs to the the BlinkenLights company that displayed the music video proudly on the Toronto City.

In other news everyone should be ashamed with themsleves for letting moot become the most influential man on the year.

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