List of things that began as a joke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Things that began as a joke or hoax, but later became real. Not to be confused with urban legends which began as a joke, but later were believed to be real.
- "Blog" and "Blogosphere"
- Coined as a joke, these intentionally silly terms were later adopted as terms which are commonly used without humour.
- Email viruses
- The Goodtimes virus was a hoax about a Computer virus (or Computer worm) that could be spread simply by reading an email. Such viruses were technically impossible at the time, but later became a reality. Additionally, the warning itself spread from person to person in much the same manner as a virus; it was a "social virus", a virus that propagates through social engineering.
- A Literary Nightmare
- (Possibly.) Mark Twain wrote a story about a poem that infects the mind of listeners and preoccupies them until they are compelled to repeat it, spreading the "infection". The poem did indeed turn out to be catchy enough to become preoccupying and contagious. Since the poem predated the joke and had already begun tormenting people, the story could be considered less of a joke than a lament.
- South Park
- The Spirit of Christmas was commissioned as a video Christmas card, and was a parody of children's Christmas TV specials. It was popularly traded and led to the regular TV series.
