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'FAIL' an Increasingly Mainstream Term, From Wall St to Washington

by Evan Shamoon on October 17, 2008 at 03:55 PM



Aren't you just so proud when you see an Internet meme go mainstream? Perhaps even more impressive than your dad Rickrolling you (u just got PWND, BTW), FAIL has finally hit the big time, showing up on network news programs, mainstream Web sites, and even the Senate floor. (That last one was probably the most satisfying: During Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson's testimony before the Senate banking committee last month, someone in the crowd held up a piece of paper with FAIL written on it.)

Slate.com tackles the issue with gusto, tracing the roots of the meme back to its earliest days on Internet message boards. From the piece:
The highest form of fail -- the epic fail -- involves not just catastrophic failure but hubris as well. Not just coming in second in a bike race but doing so because you fell off your bike after prematurely raising your arms in victory. Totaling your pickup not because the brakes failed but because you were trying to ride on the windshield. Not just destroying your fish tank but doing it while trying to film yourself lifting weights.
How awesome is it when kids talking smack on 'World of Warcraft' forums have an impact on American political culture? [From: Slate]

Tags: fail, funny, meme, trends

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