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Bacon Craze Latest 'Meme' to Sweep the Web

by Warren Riddle on April 5, 2009 at 12:01 PM


For those who don't follow Internet trends, 'meme' refers to an idea or joke that becomes widely popular on the Internet, especially once it spreads to non-Internet-savvy groups, such as politicians. Some notable recent memes include RickRoll, LOLCats, Chuck Norris "facts" and pretty much any video of an annoying kid doing something ridiculous on YouTube. The latest meme-du-jour, or flavor of the day? Bacon.

A recent story in The Los Angeles Times investigates the smorgasbord of bacon-related products inundating the Web, including: an alarm clock perfect for TV boss Michael Scott, iPhone carrying cases, and even a bacon bra. Some of the ideas seem like extreme experiments in self-control, or torture. For example, the bacon lampshade sounds delicious, especially once the heat from the bulb starts warming up the pork, resulting in an irresistible aroma wafting throughout the house. Mmmmm, bacon.

Seeking to explain bacon mania, Mark Milian of the L.A. Times approached several industry insiders for help. One, Bonny Giardina, a chef instructor for the Hipcook school in L.A., explained, "Everything tastes better with bacon," adding that even vegetarians "always say 'The hardest thing I have to gIve up.. is bacon'". But, why? Mr. Baconpants, a commenter on the original article, nails it, in our humble opinion. He says, "[The] reason that bacon is so popular is because almost everyone LOVES bacon. And since we are living in a time where healthy eating is almost government mandated people want to rebel. Bacon is our symbol of freedom in the fight to eat what we want." Give us bacon, or give us death!


Don't feel too bad if you didn't foresee the bacon bonanza. Over 10 years ago, when a buddy of ours began covering bacon strips with chocolate, and even reserved a chocolate-covered bacon domain name, many folks thought he was crazy. Now, with this Internet "bacon explosion," we're wishing we'd gotten in on the action and actually helped him market the product. Oh, well. You know the old adage: "If ifs and buts were bacon and nuts," we'd be loaded, or, at the very least, a Web phenomenon right now. [From: The Los Angeles Times]

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Tags: bacon, bacon explosion, BaconExplosion, internet memes, InternetMemes, meme, memes, web, web trends, WebTrends

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