At about 2:30PM on Wednesday, September 21, virtually the entire island of Puerto Rico was completely blacked-out due to a fire at one of the nation’s main power plants, the Central Aguirre in Salinas. The massive blackout lasted nearly 48 hours for most, and a small fraction of the population may have to wait until Saturday to get their electricity back. Nearly 1.3 million suscribers to the AEE, the island’s only electric power authority, were left in the dark–multiply that per person per household, and you’ve got basically all of the island’s 3.5 million people without electricity–some even without water. Of course, in unity there is strength. Many people even joined together to help police officers direct traffic during Wednesday’s rush hour. However, we all know what the best and most important outcome of this example of our faltering island’s inefficient infrastructure has been: the memes.
The event seemingly predicted The Purge franchises’ next possible sequel…
Some memes reflected our initial struggle for battery life after losing power right at the end of a long day in class and at work.
And poor Steve Harvey delivered some soul-crushingly fake news.
Some even conveniently laid out a starter pack for the blackout.
The opportunity called for a remix of the beloved Harris Paint commercial.
And Snickers seized the opportunity to say how we were all feeling.
On Facebook, people demanded answers…
And asked the burning questions.
Meanwhile, others took to Twitter to express their annoyance over the massive blackout.
Some took it as the perfect opportunity to catch their crush right where they wanted them.
Others assured us that even under extraordinary circumstances, some things would stay the same.
The Fiscal Control Board used the popular social media platform to give us an offer we couldn’t refuse.
Even Lin-Manuel Miranda made a heartfelt plea on behalf of his cousin Camila.
Others said exactly what we were thinking about the played-out literary references that flooded our timelines.
While others looked away from their screens and towards the sky, and captured the one silver lining in all the darkness.