Days Since Last X

About

Days Since Last X is a phrasal template and exploitable meme format in which a clapping man is seen below a sign stating that it has been "0000 days" since the last major accident or catastrophe. The meme, starting off as an American-focused one relating to school shootings, quickly adapted into being about any random topic in which it is lamented that such a short amount of time has been passed between instances.

Origin

In 2015, as a result of the Charleston Church Shooting, many memes relating to 'America and it's propensity for mass shootings began to appear. On October 1st, 2015, Imgur user JohnnyandtheSnipers^[1] uploaded an image using a crying, American flag-wearing figure clapping as a counter read that it has been 0000 days since the last mass shooting (shown below). While only receiving minimal engagement and views, this is the earliest known example.

Spread

The meme template would then find itself adapted to be less about school shootings and America and became a blank slate to put any message onto. An example is seen in the meme uploaded to the Facebook group Patriarchy Comics^[2] on October 31st, 2017, in which it is noted that another anti-Gamergate person was reportedly on the hook for sexual assault despite not naming anyone (shown below).

On February 12th, 2023, as part of a series of memes based around the Lake Huron UFO, Redditor u/HappyAffirmative^[3] uploaded a version of the meme format in which the man was replaced by an F-22 jet, with the counter reading "0000 days since last F-22 kill," cheering on the scrambling of the jets for the incident and earning over 2,600 upvotes in five months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References