# How long did it take for the arrow in the knee joke to get old? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321 "2012-01-04T01:17:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/1 "2012-01-04T01:17:14Z")
So, how long did it take for the arrow in the knee joke to get old and tired? People are already making jokes about how tired a joke it is. The meme that the arrow/knee meme is old is itself becoming an old meme. Meta. I remember that memes used to take longer to get old. Is this the influence of 4chan and youtube, where memes get repeated exponentially? Are we getting close to the meme singularity? Will this be the future of memes? In a few years, will memes become old and tired within days? Within the same day? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/2 "2012-01-04T01:40:13Z")
I’ve never heard it, so I guess it’s not old to me. But I am not familiar with Skyrim, so maybe it’s my fault. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/3 "2012-01-04T01:42:37Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I’ve never heard it, so I guess it’s not old to me. But I am not familiar with Skyrim, so maybe it’s my fault. Same for me, I’ve never played Skyrim (or really, any huge computer game), but I have no idea what you’re talking about. Could you link to an example of the joke? ETA, Youtube cleared that up pretty quick. I believe I found the original and the jokes. (Is [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhE6dLI1Q2E) what started it, other then the sad trombone part?) ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/4 "2012-01-04T01:48:13Z")
Same here, never played Skyrim, no idea what the “Arrow in the Knee” meme joke is, but I’m already tired of it, it seems to be prevalent on YouTube vid comments (I know YT comments are generally considered the shallow end of the intuhlectshool pool, but I find them sadly amusing at times) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/5 "2012-01-04T01:49:19Z")
Missed the edit…that should be [sad tuba](http://www.sadtuba.com/), not [sad trombone.](http://sadtrombone.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/6 "2012-01-04T01:51:18Z")
People are tired of it because it’s a very unfunny meme. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/7 "2012-01-04T03:28:45Z")
This has gotta be a first, a meme becoming old before I’d even heard of it. Seriously, I was right there in the thick of All Your Base Are Belong To Us, it didn’t take me that long to find the source of the Chuck Norris Facts, and I wasn’t _that_ late to the party for Badger Badger Badger, Rickrolling or Over Ninethousaaaaaand. I _think_ I saw one YouTube link to someone getting shot in the knee. That’s it. (I didn’t even watch it.) Watched the link. Totally not getting it. I didn’t even know this game was that big. I mean, I _know_ World of Warcraft is big. That’s how big it is, even someone who has no interest in ever being part of an MMORPG knows it’s big. I doubt Skyrim is that big. Just my opinion, if your meme needs a message board thread just to friggin’ _explain_ it, you really should try a little harder. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/8 "2012-01-04T03:35:36Z")
Anything and everything you could want to know thanks to [Know Your Meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-took-an-arrow-in-the-knee). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/9 "2012-01-04T03:41:37Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > This has gotta be a first, a meme becoming old before I’d even heard of it. Welcome. Who’s got **DKW** ’s Old Fart[sup]TM[/sup] card? Anyone? I forget where we keep them… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/10 "2012-01-04T04:46:47Z")
Never heard of it until now. I used to know things…I swear. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/11 "2012-01-04T05:03:46Z")
Not old. It has a second life because people are tired of it. For me, its annoyance gives it a second life. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/12 "2012-01-04T08:31:40Z")
Yep, I’m getting old. No idea what this meme is, either. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/13 "2012-01-04T11:11:40Z")
It got old before I finished reading the sentence the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/14 "2012-01-04T11:32:08Z")
I used to know what the latest memes were, but then I took an arrow in the knee. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/15 "2012-01-04T11:38:50Z")
It may have been funny in the game. Dunno. Never played it. Outside of the game, it never was. ‘Fus ro dah!’ isn’t funny, either. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/16 "2012-01-04T11:52:54Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > ‘Fus ro dah!’ isn’t funny, either. No. _Fus ro dah_ is friggin’ hilarious, since it’s organic to the premise. Since you haven’t played the game; naturally it wouldn’t be funny to you. That’s like someone who doesn’t speak English saying puns aren’t funny because they don’t understand them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/17 "2012-01-04T12:11:55Z")
A cousin who never even played the game first made me aware of the meme. He just knew there was a lot of talk about taking an arrow in the knee that had something to do with Skyrim. Of course, having heard this comment many times recently from NPCs as I passed, it was funny to me. And it was funny that this was going around. But I figured it would get old pretty fast, especially if I were reading someplace where people were beating it to death. Among my friends we still exchange a bit from a comedian we don’t even remember who patted a pot belly and said, “Yeah, I used to be the Spider-man.” ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/18 "2012-01-04T12:36:45Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Welcome. > > Who’s got **DKW** ’s Old Fart[sup]TM[/sup] card? Anyone? I forget where we keep them… AARP mailed mine to my house. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/19 "2012-01-04T13:49:40Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > People are tired of it because it’s a very unfunny meme. Pretty much all memes are unfunny. It’s a way for people with no friends and no personality to think they’re somehow in on some clever inside joke, except it’s not inside anything - it’s parroted by every other social retard out there. The whole internet culture out there that just jumps from meme to meme as their primary way to communicate are the saddest, most boring people on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/20 "2012-01-04T14:12:10Z")
I like it, I still find it funny, but that is not strange, considering that I still find “Hi Opal!” funny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321.md?page=2)