I Like Turtles (2007)

About

On May 31st, 2007, ten-year-old Jonathan Ware was visiting the Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon. While at the fair Jonathan had his face painted to look like a Zombie, and was soon approached by KGW correspondent Nancy Francis. But when asked to comment, Jonathan’s face-paint was the last thing on his mind; because Jonathan likes turtles.

Transcript:

Nancy Francis: “Back here live at the Waterfront Village with my friend the zombie, Jonathon. You’re looking good, Jonathon. Jonathon just got an awesome face paint job. What do you think?”

Jonathan: I like turtles!

A copy of the KGW newscast was uploaded uploaded to Youtube 10 days later by 3mediapro, who seemed to recognize early on that this moment of Live TV awkwardness was too valuable to let slip away unarchived.

In the following weeks, views of the video soon shot into the millions. All over Youtube, parodies, mashups, and other video remixes of Turtle Boy appeared as the first signs of an Internet meme. (Derivatives listed below) and dozens of I Like Turtles t-shirts were made.

I Like Turtles Shirts available on:
Zazzle
Snorgtees
CafePress
Screened
Shirtstastegood

Jonathan and his family were unaware of the phenomenon that Jonathan’s simple phrase had become; that is, until July 7th when his sister learned about the meme via Myspace.

By August, KGW caught up with the Wares again, to hear their opinions of Jonathan’s newfound fame.

Derivatives

Google Insights

Although the popularity of the meme peaked in July of 2007, search volumes have averaged around 40% of the initial peak height ever since. The popularity of “I Like Turtles” was no mere passing fad. It is a strong case of a Classic meme.