Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Krystal Mizono Meme


The Cinnamon Challenge

• When did this begin to become popular/famous on the Internet and why?          
The Cinnamon Challenge has grown in popularity over a long span of time. The first challenge recorded and to get recognition was in 2001, when Erik Goodlad first attempted and created the challenge. His friend Michael Buffington posted his experience on his blog, which caught the attention of Jason Kottke on December 22, 2001. In April 2006, the first YouTube video of the challenge was posted and titled “Pipe Attempts the Cinnamon Challenge.” The challenge did not truly rise in popularity until 2007 and again in 2011. In 2012, the challenge was featured on the popular television series, MythBusters, where two of three people failed, and the other, who successfully ate the cinnamon, did not complete it under 60 seconds. The Cinnamon Challenge became popular on the Internet because of social media websites. The use of YouTube was key in spreading the challenge and gaining interest. The other appeal of the challenge is people find it funny to attempt and watch it because of the results. There is something funny about watching people suffer (schadenfreude). Another reason it became famous is because people are curious and want to try the challenge because it does not sound like it would be hard to do.

• The details/description of the "meme," person, event, etc.
            The Cinnamon Challenge is completed by a person swallowing one tablespoon of cinnamon without any liquid to help ease the cinnamon down ones throat and must be completed under 60 seconds. After swallowing the cinnamon the objective is to not vomit. Most people record and upload their experiences on social media websites such as YouTube. From the many YouTube examples out there, the common reaction from swallowing a tablespoon of cinnamon tends to be vomiting, gagging, coughing and spitting the cinnamon out. From most of the videos, it seems nearly impossible to successfully complete this challenge.

• How popular did it become and over what time span? (include "Google Insights" interest).
            The Cinnamon Challenge first started in 2001, but was not very well known or popular right away. It was not until 2006, when the first YouTube video of someone doing the challenge, when it started to attract more attention. The peak of the popularity of this Internet sensation was 2007 and 2011. The challenge lost interest in 2012 and even became very controversial due to the health repercussions people were afraid it could bring. It is not as popular now, but there are still people posting videos of them doing the challenge and some Internet buzz about it.

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=the%20cinnamon%20challenge&geo=US&cmpt=q

• Include other memes that may have emerged from this or have been influenced by this.

-The Saltine Challenge: One must eat six saltine crackers within 60 seconds without water or any liquid. You must also eat all the crumbs.
-The Banana and Sprite Challenge: You must eat two bananas and then drink one liter of Sprite without vomiting.
-The Milk Challenge: To complete this challenge you have to drink one gallon of milk in one hour and keep it down.
-The Wonder Bread Challenge: Eat one piece of wonder bread under 45 seconds.


• Include videos or images when relevant to illustrate your description

Examples:
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/cinnamon-challenge?before=1330938865

First Cinnamon Challenge:

First YouTube Video Challenge:

http://weknowmemes.com/2012/02/the-cinnamon-challenge/

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