Waxy.org is the sandbox of So I had this silly idea to isolate the backgrounds from famous Internet memes, removing all the subjects from every photo or video. I'm pretty happy with the results.
Like Jon Haddock's porn sans people, these photos are banal out of context. Only someone familiar with the original memes would sense something's amiss, like the set of a play waiting for the actors to stumble into history.
Can you name all 22 23? (Click any image for the answer.)
The following seven are by Drew Bell:
By tonyb:
By Alan Taylor:
By Dystopos:
By Jesse Burgheimer:
By Scott Helgeson:
7:01 AM
They feel so empty :/ Great idea!
7:04 AM
This is gold. So great! So, so, empty.
7:14 AM
Wow, what a great idea. Kittens Inspired by Kittens is really creepy. WTF *is* that chair for?
7:31 AM
This is great. It's essentially just looking at the environments people choose to film as they sing daft songs. I've never seen that porn one either, and it's the same, almost worse. Of course, none of those are done in flash.
3rd to last: Ah, good. Safe to fap.
7:33 AM
is every funny video a meme nowadays?
7:36 AM
Nice 'shopping bro
7:39 AM
I think the general rule is that a meme is defined by its ability to transmit virally and mutate into variations.
7:48 AM
For some reason, the Numa Numa one really sticks out here for some reason. Such an ordinary room with nothing special about it at all... but instantly recognizable.
This is awesome, thanks.
7:51 AM
Brilliant!
7:58 AM
Initially I was pleased that I could guess them all correctly, but that happiness soon turned to sadness as I looked back on a wasted life...
8:01 AM
Ha! This is great. Nice collection!
8:33 AM
Huge idea!
9:00 AM
I am sad I know many of these. (insert meme here that goes with my sadness)
9:08 AM
Where is 'I like turtles'?
9:14 AM
This is an extremely clever concept, and I'm glad to see it was executed just as well :)
Haha, I had a smile going down the list as I recognized each room/setting like an old friend. It would be like walking onto the empty set of a classic sitcom.
9:22 AM
The last one looks like the scene of a crime. A lot of them do, but the last one in particular.
9:38 AM
Pierce: You're not far off. They sexually abused that poor ottoman.
10:08 AM
Haha the last one's spoof is much better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHdvruqZwz4
10:31 AM
That is awesome. Nice work.
10:36 AM
great idea, wax... /me knows almost all of these, which is sort of scary
11:23 AM
Brilliant! But now I have Badger Badger Badger stuck in my head.
1:16 PM
What a top notch idea... and well executed too. Great stuff :-)
2:39 PM
It appears that ceiling cat is no longer interested in watching me pleasure myself. *sigh*
Great bit of work Andy. I also am a mildly disturbed that I recognize most, if not all, of them.
3:00 PM
Great idea, nicely done!
3:00 PM
Brilliant.
3:21 PM
note that all 22 have been played off by the keyboard cat
3:48 PM
Awesome, but no Techno Viking?
5:42 PM
Unfortunately, the National Park Service already isolated the background from one famous Internet meme:
http://www.deuceofclubs.com/moj/mojaveboothgone2.jpg
11:00 PM
cool
it reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/dennisknopf
you both should do a nice montage of all this stuff
XD
cheers.
12:24 AM
reminds me of these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt8MOvF6BxI&feature=channel_page
4:47 AM
Is it sad that I knew the majority of those? Great idea though!
6:08 AM
A great idea! But one of the first memes is missing: http://www.eayz.net/uploads/2009/ayb_scenery.gif ;)
7:26 AM
Great, 'mouse over' reveal would be awsome...
10:44 AM
That was creepy. Cool!
11:02 AM
I should know more of these since me and my wife spend probably to much of our time watching vids together. Interesting idea, it is amazing how burned into our brain these videos are we can identify them without the personality(ies) involved in making them popular. Was that an idea a sort of internet social experiment?
11:07 AM
Dude, you are crazy :) May Ceiling Cat be with you.
12:05 PM
I only recognized like 7 of them and now i'm crazy curious to know the rest!
1:21 PM
Most excellent. I only wish someone had shooped Zero Wing.
4:07 PM
9.2
.1 for each I've SEEN but couldn't recognize from the picture alone.
8:01 PM
I got a few, could you post the solutions, I'm curious to know the ones I missed
8:04 PM
Like I said in the intro, click any image to view the original video.
8:56 PM
those photos shows no emotion.
12:32 AM
Is it sad that I know 98% of the meme?
1:08 AM
'memery' if you will
5:02 AM
Is it sad that I know nothing of any of these scenes?
6:07 AM
Shopped. You can see it from the pixels
6:17 AM
i think i got about half
8:03 AM
Also, this idea is so old, just go to 4chan ("the master of memes") and lurk moar.
8:59 AM
I've never been rick'rolled before. That said, you know which is the one I've missed. Now I lost the game.
9:14 AM
Where's goatse?
9:16 AM
I couldn't stomach staring at Goatse, Tubgirl, or 2 Girls 1 Cup in Photoshop for an hour. If you can, send it in.
9:31 AM
Its so sad that I knew all of them except 2. Never saw the dynamite or the air humping one, but wow lol.
8:46 PM
Suffice it to say, you've missed one really good one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNfyBqrAaPk
8:08 AM
You forgot Chad Vader
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wGR4-SeuJ0&feature=fvst
8:16 AM
Neither of those videos has a recognizable background, which was a major criteria for me.
7:12 AM
What is that chair in the kittens vid? Is it a torture device or something? Maybe to restrain that hyper kid..
5:38 PM
That's a positioning chair for children with physical or neurological disabilities. Kinda like these.
8:59 PM
This filled up plenty of time! Good post ;p
9:00 PM
You should put the leave Britney alone video on here, haha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWSjUe0FyxQ
1:25 AM
I tried! It's surprisingly hard to edit Chris Crocker out.
7:07 PM
No Sneezing Panda?!?! And no Chris crocker?!?!? What about Charlie?!!
8:52 AM
Decided to make a few of my own... this is an awesome little art project :)
One
Two
Three
12:18 PM
I live it! and I am surprised how bad I was at spotting the meme - where is the key?
12:27 PM
um, I meant to say: I love it. YouTube is down right now, cannot check.
2:53 AM
I'm happy to say that I can't name a single one, though Alan Taylor's cut-out looks like a tribute to Ceiling Cat. LOL!
What a wonderfully eccentric post!
12:09 PM
Happy to report I recognized none of these though I recognize a view from the wtc.
P.
http://paulies.wordpress.com
6:14 AM
Great idea Wax, I also am a mildly disturbed that I recognize most, if not all, of them.
4:35 PM
Hamster dance? The original dancing baby?
4:58 PM
http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/
6:34 PM
What, no Bubb Rubb and Lil' Sis? No Crazy Frog Brothers?
7:03 PM
Also: thank you for making these. Awesome.
10:27 AM
I don't think you are using the word 'meme' correctly.
videos and photos are not memes. they may portray a meme, but are not memes in and of themselves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
10:48 AM
psst: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme
12:17 PM
Love 'em. Missed the Orson Welles outtake from the Paul Masson swill ads, though. One of my favorites.
5:27 PM
Huh, now I know what a Meme is...
this is so not complete yet.
6:11 AM
I've never been rick'rolled before. That said, you know which is the one I've missed. Now I lost the game
7:36 PM
I have never seen that one either, and it's the same, almost worse. Of course, none of those are done in flash.
8:15 AM
I just noticed that German artist Joachim Schmid did a similar thing as Jon Haddock (porn sans people): http://schmid.wordpress.com/works/2004-cyberspaces/
3:13 AM
superb, got about 4 of them, rest I'm trying to tap into my memory...now I can't stop looking
10:22 AM
Please do Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt with the wolves removed. Thanks.
1:45 AM
I don't think you are using the word 'meme' correctly.
videos and photos are not memes. they may portray a meme, but are not memes in and of themselves
10:27 AM
kept me entertained for at least 35 min awsome!