About

"Tunnel Snakes Rule!" is a phrase from the video game Fallout 3, said by a gang called the Tunnel Snakes in the introductory level. The phrase became a popular joke in the Fallout fandom, prompting Bethesda to add merchandise referencing the Tunnel Snakes to their online store.

Origin

The Tunnel Snakes are a group of teenagers/children in the 2008 video game Fallout 3 made by Bethesda Softworks^[1]. In the early levels where the player plays as a teenager in Vault 101, they meet the group, at the end of the characters sentences they will exclaim "Tunnel Snakes Rule!" They are characterized in the game by wearing black leather jackets with their logo on the back, slicked back hair, and wise-guy attitude (similar to the 50's idea of a Greaser). Though there are only three members of the "gang" each one is proud of the fact that they are The Tunnel Snakes.

On August 31st, 2009, YouTuber Elevated Level posted a remix of Fallout 3 character Butch DeLoria, leader of the Tunnel Snakes, saying "Tunnel Snakes Rule!" The video gained over 2.6 million views (shown below).

Spread

The popularity of the group became an in-joke within the Fallout fandom. Online, there is a Facebook page^[2] in which people roleplay as each of the Tunnel Snakes gang members and other members of the Vault they are in and a Steam Group^[3] with over 100 members who comment on the groups page referencing the phrase. A domain for the Tunnel Snakes was also bought, and currently holds an image of the Fallout 3s Pip-Boy 3000 showing the above video.^[4]

Bethesda later recognized the popularity of the phrase on the internet and made the Tunnel Snakes Hoodie a purchasable item in their official online store (shown below).^[5] There have also been many Tunnel Snakes Twitter accounts where people use the phrase often and make references to the vault.^[6]

On January 27th, 2018, YouTuber Oxhorn posted a video investigating the Tunnel Snakes' lore, gaining over 1.73 million views (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References