Help I'm Trapped in a Factory

Added by rthomas2 • Updated about a year ago by Matt

Category: Meme Status: Confirmed Origin: Region:

Type:

Tags: xkcd robot chicken help i'm trapped factory

Additional References: Wikipedia

Top Gallery Images

I ALWAYS ENJOY READING THE LITTLE NOTES MY MOTHER PUTSS IN MY LUNCH. PEANUTS HELP! I'M BEING HELD PRISONER IN A SCHOOL LUNCH FACTORY!" HMM.SO NOW SHE'S A COMEDIENNE. WHY? WHAT DOES SHE SAY? 2-22

HELP! I'M BEING HELD PRISONER IN A CHINESE LAUNDRY!

Help Im Trap in a Hero Factory! Tahu, Toa of Fire

lelp! held ei riSD jl or Went to the DMV - Picked up new plates. Found this note inside wrapper.

Soecial-Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III Season 4 Help Me | They Took My Thumbs | I'm Trapped In a DVD Factory Tell My Mom | P.S. Yes, In That Way I Love, Maurice | Two Weeks Without Food | But Not In That Way 1I Love Her I We Are a Humble Factory Maurice Was Caught Unionizing Our Labor | President Hu Forbids It | Due to Constraints of Time and Budget | The Ramblings of Maurice | Cannot Be Erased, So Sorry | Please Do Not Notify Our Contractors Especially the Animal Keith Crofford!| Dear Consumer Soecial Robot Chicken: Star Wars EpisodeI

About • Origin • Spread • Notable Examples •

Category: Meme Status: Confirmed Origin: Region:

Type:

Tags: xkcd robot chicken help i'm trapped factory

Additional References: Wikipedia

About

"Help I'm Trapped in a Factory" is a phrasal template used in satirical pleas for help claiming to be stuck inside a factory that produces the object containing the message.

Origin

The exact origin of the phrasal template is unknown. Since the mid 1950s, the bubble gum brand Bazooka Joe produced gum wrappers with messages written on the inside, some of which purportedly contained the message "Help! I'm trapped in a bubble gum factory!"^[1]^[2]

On February 22nd, 1961, Charles Schultz^[10] published an issue of Peanuts that features the joke (shown below).

On January 1st, 2006, the webcomic Xkcd^[3] published a comic titled "Pi Equals," which contained the mathematical constant π with the hidden message "helpimtrappedinauniversefactory" (shown below).

Tr= 358979265 35 2973help imt rappedi a universe fac tory 71 0814..

Spread

On March 22nd, 2006, Flickr^[6] user Cheri Utsler uploaded a photograph of a toilet paper roll with the message "Help!!! I'm trapped in the toilet paper factory" written in blue marker (shown below).

On October 10th, 2007, Xkcd^[9] published a comic titled "Exploits of a Mom," which included the message "Her daughter is named Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory" hidden in the comic's alt text. On July 4th, 2008, an electronic traffic sign at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was hacked with several joke messages, including the phrase "trapped in a sign factory" (shown below).^[7]

In Season 4 of the animated television show Robot Chicken,^[4] originally broadcast in December 2008, the titles of episodes 1 through 4 spelled out "Help Me / They Took My Thumbs / I'm Trapped / In a DVD Factory." On January 19th, 2011, a TV Tropes^[5] entry titled "Help Help Trapped in Title Factory" was created, listing several examples of the phrasal template found in pop culture. On January 14th, 2013, Redditor SpinyLumpsucker posted a screenshot of a Facebook status update with a haiku poem about being stuck in a "haiku factory" to the /r/funny^[8] subreddit (shown below).