X, X Everywhere

About

X, X Everywhere is a phrasal template typically used for a wide range of cultural references, from quotable lines heard in popular films and TV shows to more obscure things found in viral videos and games. Many instances of “X Everywhere” may be seen as an indicator for emerging trends, while some should be read as a grievance or complaint against them, depending on the context.

Origin

The contour drawing of Buzz and Woody was originally taken from a house dialogue scene in Toy Story 2:

Online Usage

As an image macro, “X, X EVERYWHERE” had its beginning on 420chan imageboard in 2007, when Kirtaner, one of the site administrators, implemented a wordfilter that would automatically fill in any text-less image posts with the phrase “DICKS EVERYWHERE.” Although it was designed to curb some of the users from spamming the board with porn, other users soon began posting variations of X Everywhere, replacing “Dicks” with a word more relevant to the image attachment.

In Literature

As a rhetorical device, “X, X Everywhere” has uncertain origins. The earliest known imprint of the phrase can be found in part two of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, written by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and first published in 1798:

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

The Amazing Spider-Man

The long running and incredibly popular comic book “The Amazing Spider-Man” recently referenced this meme in the current Spidey saga “Spider-Island”, written by Dan Slott, as the name of the saga’s fourth chapter in The Amazing Spider-Man #670.

Spread

Google search queries for “Dicks Everywhere” has been visible since the 420chan wordfilter episode in July 2007, but the phrase really latched on with 4chan demographics years later in July 2010, around the same time Toy Story 3 was released in the theaters.

Video Collection