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Who Is 'Yap Dollar'? The Talking Five Dollar Bill Who Says 'Xiaohongshu' In Chinese Explained
A talking five-dollar bill named Yap Dollar has taken over the Instagram Reels algorithm for many users. He can't stop saying his Chinese catchphrase, "Xiaohongshu!"
Before he was called Yap Dollar, the talking money was named Fiveish. He was the mascot (and still is) of a notable American-Jewish foundation. However, after he started yapping on everybody's feeds, his lore deeply changed.
So who is Yap Dollar? Who is Fiveish? How did this meme come about? Let's explain.
Who Is Fiveish?
Fiveish is a talking five-dollar bill character who's the mascot for the American Jewish organization Oorah which centers on Jewish outreach programs. Oorah created Fiveish in 2007 to be the spokesperson for its annual auction called the Oorah Auction.
Fiveish was featured in the company's graphics and art. He also took center stage in the company's earliest YouTube videos. In them, Fiveish transcends his CGI form, as in, a man in a Fiveish costume interacts with real children. Fiveish still acts as the company's mascot in 2024.
How Did Fiveish Become A Meme?
The first meme attention that Fiveish received was (oddly) on the Cum Town podcast in 2020. The members discussed the irony of a talking five-dollar bill being the mascot for a Jewish organization. Jewish podcaster Adam Friedland was the key speaker on this front.
Inspired by the podcast's discussion, a meme creator named @gangstasportivik began using Fiveish in a recent slew of TikTok videos. The creator used an AI voice to show Fiveish discussing random sludge content videos. To end them, @gangstasportivik made Fiveish speak Chinese, often saying the catchphrase, "Xiaohongshu!"
Fiveish calls out @adamfriedland #callout #icespice #inuit pic.twitter.com/9uPMyujfAb
— Prognoz Pogodi (@BertChintez) May 14, 2024
What Does 'Xiaohongshu' Mean?
Xiaohongshu is the name of a popular Chinese social media app. In English, it means, "Little Red Book."
The original creator of the Fiveish memes, @gangstasportivik, seemingly made Fiveish say "Xiaohongshu" to make a satirical point about marketing content to the Chinese market.
Poking fun at the content that seeps out of China has become a running gag over the past year. It tracks with the Donghua Jinlong High-Quality Industrial Grade Glycine meme from earlier this year (that @gangstasportivik also started).
@gangstasportivik They’ve got their own core tech with a whopping 31 patents under their belt and a whole lot of production experience #mulldog #glycine #trustworthy ♬ High Quality Industrial Grade Glycine – Prognoz Pogodi
Where Did 'Yap Dollar' Come From?
The nickname "Yap Dollar" was coined by a since-deleted Instagram user named @yapdollar who adopted @gangstasportivik's meme format in August. The user's Instagram Reels went super viral and usurped the original name for Fiveish. Now, everyone knows the character as Yap Dollar.
"Yap" plays on the slang term that gained meme attention on TikTok earlier this year. Joking about how someone "yaps" or is a "yapper" is at the center of Yap Dollar's nickname.
For the full history of Yap Dollar, aka Fiveish, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.
