Hedgehog Getting an X-Ray

About

Hedgehog Getting an X-ray refers to a viral image of a hedgehog taped to a table belly up before getting an X-ray. The image inspired multiple photoshop edits in late December 2021.

Origin

On December 24th, 2021, radiologist and Twitter^[1] user @DrLongissimus posted a photograph of a hedgehog taped to a table with its belly exposed, writing, "In case anyone wondered what a hedgehog getting an X-ray looked like." the image received over 77,500 retweets and 599,700 likes in four days (image and tweet shown below).

Spread

In the following days, the image was widely circulated online. For example, on December 24th, Redditors^[2][3] orchid_breeder and StinkyTofu111 reposted the image to /r/pics and /r/Damnthatsinteresting, where the image gained over 106,000 and 24,800 upvotes in four days, respectively. A 9GAG^[4] repost made on the same day gained over 11,000 upvotes.

Starting on December 24th, users on Twitter posted humorous edits of the image. For example, on that day Twitter user @Fillup_3_Hotmen posted a Fukouna Shoujo 03 edit that gained over 270 retweets and 6,800 likes in three days (shown below, left). Later that day, Twitter user @100_Ducks posted an edit referencing Sonic the Hedgehog that gained over 270 retweets and 5,000 likes (shown below, center). Also on the same day, YouTuber Justin Whang posted a meme referencing Metal Gear Solid that gained over 750 retweets and 13,400 likes (shown below, right).

In the following days, more viral edits and fan arts of the image were posted on Twitter, spreading to other social media websites through reposts.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References