About

Breadsticks is a series of mock dinner date conversations in which a person abruptly leaves the table while stuffing complimentary breadsticks into their purse after hearing their date say something undesirable or offensive. In late May 2015, posts containing variations of the conversations saw a significant resurgence on Tumblr.

Origin

On November 11th, 2014, Tumblr user chrisprattsgf^[2] submitted a parody date transcript in which she suddenly grabs breadsticks off a dinner table and leaves after her date reveals he is a cat person (shown below). In the next year, the post gathered upwards of 67,600 notes.

Spread

On May 26th, 2015, Tumblr user akeelahandtghebinapartment23^[3] posted a dialogue transcript titled "on the first date with your crush," in which she abruptly grabs breadsticks off a dinner table and says "I gotta go" after discovering her date partner was born under the Gemini Zodiac astrological sign (shown below). Within two months, the post gained over 151,000 notes.

On July 11th, the Meme Documentation^[1] Tumblr blog published an explanation of the breadstick meme. The same day, Tumblr user peanutscratch^[4] posted a variation of the joke in which a person asks their date to help steal breadsticks from an Olive Garden restaurant, garnering more than 106,000 notes in the next 48 hours (shown below, left). On July 12th, Tumblr user gayheda^[5] posted a date transcript in which breadsticks are returned to the table during a discussion about the current state of feminism (shown below, right). Within 24 hours, the post gained over 163,000 notes.

Search Interest

Not available.

External References