# For the pre-Internet crowd: what'a good example of a pre-Intenet "meme"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660 "2014-07-08T18:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/21 "2014-07-08T20:14:46Z")
Circle, circle Dot, dot, dot Now you’ve got Your cootie shot. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/22 "2014-07-08T20:15:37Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > A ton of stuff that you just heard on the schoolyard are memes like double-dutch rhymes. Also urban legends. I have no idea how these things get circulated. Word of mouth seems most likely to me. Wildfire compares favorably to their speed of dissemination. I always imagined a west-to-east wind carrying them along from Southern California to the rest of the country in a matter of hours to days, and for the really inside joke things, maybe weeks. We’d have to go back to pre-TV and pre-movies (including pre-radio) to get to the level of Pony Express speeds. Paul Revere, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/23 "2014-07-08T20:24:58Z")
[When You’re Up to Your Ass in Alligators](http://www.amazon.com/When-Youre-Your-Ass-Alligators/dp/0814318673) and a couple of other books by Dundes and Pagter document pre-internet faxlore and what-are-now-called-memes (I don’t think Dundes uses that word). Loads of examples in these books. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/24 "2014-07-08T20:30:57Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > You’ve helped me remember a kid’s thing that probably doesn’t pass the “meme” test (whatever that might be): > > The deal was that you would make the OK sign with your fingers and place it below the belt somewhere (knee was the most popular spot) and if you caught somebody looking at it, you were free to perform an act of choice (usually the Slug-bug option or – in the case of an attractive opposite sex object – a surreptitious smooch (or worse)). It had a name that I don’t recall but it was a big deal in 1950’s Alabama high school environs. > > Anybody know what I’m even talking about? We did this game a lot during my high school days in the early 90’s in Washington State. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/25 "2014-07-08T20:30:59Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > [When You’re Up to Your Ass in Alligators](http://www.amazon.com/When-Youre-Your-Ass-Alligators/dp/0814318673) and a couple of other books by Dundes and Pagter document pre-internet faxlore and what-are-now-called-memes (I don’t think Dundes uses that word). Loads of examples in these books. Beautiful! I have to have that book. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/26 "2014-07-08T20:40:47Z")
I remember seeing several xerox memes. Banana bread “recipe” that was juvenile description of sex. “If bread rises, leave town” “Achtenshun Lookenpeepers and Fingerpokerz” was a pigeon German sign, the point of which was “keep your hands off this equipment” The Daffy Duck “You have obviously mistaken me for someone that gives a fuck!” The only time I encountered a laser that did not have a "warning, Do not look into beam with remaining eye. " sign, I added one. We used to modify cartoons with whiteout, literal cut and pasting, etc. Pretty much like photoshopped or Dogge memes. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/27 "2014-07-08T20:42:16Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Might something from the old pass-around-the-gang Xerox copies be one? > > Toilet wall graffiti? > > What? [Have A Nice Day](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_a_nice_day#Smiley_face_and_.22have_a_nice_day.22) [Keep On Trucking](http://miamiherald.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b26169e20162fd8f2e95970d-pi) [Never Give Up!](http://www.lafishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/never-give-up-frog.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/28 "2014-07-08T20:45:10Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > We did this game a lot during my high school days in the early 90’s in Washington State. What did you call it, if you recall? Glad to know it wasn’t a thing limited to my teen years. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/29 "2014-07-08T20:46:31Z")
[Hang in there, baby!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_in_there,_Baby) [Turn on, tune in, drop out.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on,_tune_in,_drop_out) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/30 "2014-07-08T20:51:53Z")
Tons of things from certain TV shows, Get Smart had a lot Missed it by that much Sorry about that, Chief Laugh-in had lots also Sock it to me. You bet your bippy. Richard Lupoff’s parody of Harlan Ellison’s “Shattered like a Glass Goblin” was “Battered like a Brass Bippy.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/31 "2014-07-08T20:55:37Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Tons of things from certain TV shows, Get Smart had a lot > Missed it by that much > Sorry about that, Chief > > Laugh-in had lots also > Sock it to me. > You bet your bippy. > > Richard Lupoff’s parody of Harlan Ellison’s “Shattered like a Glass Goblin” was “Battered like a Brass Bippy.” Nobody had a better “sock it to me” than Nixon. I still laugh at that! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/32 "2014-07-08T21:06:01Z")
We reach. Herbert. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/33 "2014-07-08T21:14:09Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Tons of things from certain TV shows, Get Smart had a lot Nothing was ever sadder than my mother throwing around catchphrases from _Welcome Back, Kotter_. “Up your nose with a rubber hose!” “Sit on it!” She thought she was so cool. :smack: In a later era, she somehow caught on to “Who let the dogs out?” and “Bad Boys” (the theme from Cops). She’s kind of a meme killer, really. Once she’s using it, you never want to hear it spoken again. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/34 "2014-07-08T21:28:27Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Nothing was ever sadder than my mother throwing around catchphrases from _Welcome Back, Kotter_. > > “Up your nose with a rubber hose!” > “Sit on it!” > > She thought she was so cool. :smack: In a later era, she somehow caught on to “Who let the dogs out?” and “Bad Boys” (the theme from Cops). She’s kind of a meme killer, really. Once she’s using it, you never want to hear it spoken again. You speak for me in that department. My favorite of the sort was when whoever it was (some old gal in my acquaintance whose identity I have managed to repress) started saying “Right-oh” instead of “Right On.” Took the cool right out of that expression! Fortunately I have yet to have somebody take the sting out of “Far out” or “Cool” which are still useful in my vocabulary, in spite of the bastardizations like “Farm out” and such. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/35 "2014-07-08T21:29:56Z")
“Well isn’t that special?” ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/36 "2014-07-08T21:32:39Z")
Around 1970 - men’s shirts had a button at the back of the collar. In high school, you buttoned the back button if you were gay (or had a girlfriend, or whatever). Or was it the other way around? Who knows where that came from??? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/37 "2014-07-08T22:11:36Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Around 1970 - men’s shirts had a button at the back of the collar. In high school, you buttoned the back button if you were gay (or had a girlfriend, or whatever). Or was it the other way around? Who knows where that came from??? And men’s shirts also had a small loop at shoulder height in the back – a loop like found inside jackets to hang them by though these were smaller. I never knew what they were for, but kids would yank on them to tear them off. Occasionally you’d rip the back of the shirt instead. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/38 "2014-07-08T22:38:57Z")
Remember those men’s slacks with the little buckle in the back between the hip pockets? We called those pants “flag britches” and guys who wore them were “flags.” This was in grades early enough that “fags” were not in common parlance. Madras shirts anyone? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/39 "2014-07-08T23:56:57Z")
Where’s the beef? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-pre-internet-crowd-whata-good-example-of-a-pre-intenet-meme/692660/40 "2014-07-09T00:07:17Z")
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