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If you have access to social media, then I am sure you have heard of — maybe even laughed at — the peak humor of our generation: brain rot. While most of it feels like an inside joke you are not a part of, I have broken down four trending brain-rot concepts for those who want to be in the know. Whether you are trying to connect with a younger sibling who won’t stop saying “6-7” or maybe you want to explain who John Pork is, I have you covered.
1. 6 7
As a student, I hear “6 7” pretty much every day and, I admit, I sometimes let out a light chuckle. But why do these two numbers elicit such a reaction? It started with the song “Doot Doot (6 7)” by Skrilla and the featured lyric:
“Bro put belt right to they behind
The way that switch brrt, I know he dyin’ (Oh my, oh my God)
6 7, I just bipped right on the highway (Bip, bip).”
Originally, even Skrilla said it did not mean anything; they were just two numbers. But this song was added to a video edit of NBA player LaMelo Ball, who is 6 feet and 7 inches tall, and it went viral. The infamous up and down hand gesture stemmed from a video of the kid Maverick Trevillian doing the motion while saying “6 7” in reference to the numerous “6 7” edits of basketball players on TikTok.
From there, it has only gotten more popular, so much so that “6 7” won Dictionary.com’s word of the year. “6 7” is truly the peak of brain rot, with its main appeal being the fact that it makes pretty much no sense.
2. AI Food Videos
With the rise of AI video generators comes a sudden increase in AI-generated food-cutting, food-eating, and even food-eating-food videos.
This category of brain rot combines relaxing ASMR sounds with mindless visuals to create a whole genre of videos, including my personal favorite, fruit-eating fruit. There is also an infatuation with cutting imaginary objects, such as glass food, Minecraft blocks, or various weather conditions. While some find this use of brain rot AI harmful to the environment, others find it extremely satisfying.
3. John Pork is calling…
It started with an Instagram account posting edited photos of a human with pig-like features under the name of “John Pork.” While some of these photos date back to 2018, John Pork really blew up in 2023 with the “John Pork is calling…” meme. It then developed into a whole character where people gave John Pork a full backstory, along with the running joke of whether or not he is actually real. Characters were created, including Tim Cheese, his former childhood best friend, who allegedly murdered John Pork in an act of jealousy.
Very recently, there has been a trend going around where people will insert John Pork into their family photos to prank older relatives. While completely imaginary, this brainrot icon has people around the world invested in his story.
4. Italian Brain Rot
It is important to remember that brain rot is created and enjoyed globally. However, the label for this specific type of brain rot is misleading because it does not originate from Italy. The “Italian Brainrot” category is filled with AI-generated images of animals or objects combined with other objects to create characters with Italian-sounding names. Some include a cappuccino in a tutu named “Ballerina Cappuccina,” “Tralalero Tralala,” who is a shark with feet wearing sneakers, and “Tung Tung Tung Sahur,” who resembles a wooden bat, just to name a few.
Similar to John Pork, each of these characters has a story related to the others, and has gotten so popular that there are various animated videos and songs on YouTube featuring them.
Now that I have explained some of the most popular brain rot references, hopefully you understand our generation’s nonsense humor.
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