"Mitochondria is the Powerhouse of the Cell"

Added by Don • Updated about a month ago by shevyrolet

Category: Meme Status: Confirmed Year: 2013 Origin: Tumblr Region:

Type: Copypasta

Tags: philip siekevitz public education public education failure tumblr biology mitochondria organelle apatheticghost thomas-stillinski kanga-roux perks-of-being-chinese tylersivia-troyeoakley

Additional References: Biology4Kids Urban Dictionary Wikipedia

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How do I pay taxes? How do I get a job? Schools: Well, mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell

When you're taking your science final and you don't see any questions about what the mitochondria is Years of academy training wasted! SPRUE

How do you get a job? The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING IN THIS PLACE???

Loading screen tips be like Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. 10

The day that the mitochondria went from being the "powerhouse of the cell" to the "ATP synthesis by oxidative phosphorylation" was a horrible day. 5:53 PM · 03 Apr 19 · Twitter for Android ili View Tweet activity

About • Origin • Spread • Search Interest •

Category: Meme Status: Confirmed Year: 2013 Origin: Tumblr Region:

Type: Copypasta

Tags: philip siekevitz public education public education failure tumblr biology mitochondria organelle apatheticghost thomas-stillinski kanga-roux perks-of-being-chinese tylersivia-troyeoakley

Additional References: Biology4Kids Urban Dictionary Wikipedia

About

"Mitochondria is the Powerhouse of the Cell" is an expression describing the function of mitochondria organelles found in the cells of eukaryotic organisms. On Tumblr, the phrase is typically mocked^[2] as an example of impractical information taught in public schools.

Origin

The phrase "powerhouse of the cell" used to describe the function of mitochondria was coined by biologist Philip Siekevitz in the article "Powerhouse of the Cell" published in 1957. In April, 2013, Tumblr^[1] user apatheticghost posted several things learned in school, which included "mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell" (shown below). In the following two years, the post gained over 992,000 notes.

what i learned from school 1. im a f------ p------------ 2. everybody else is also a f------ p------------ 3. mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell

Spread

On February 12th, 2014, Tumblr user thomas-stillinski posted a photo of a biology exam in which the function of mitochondria is described as "the powerhouse of the cell"^[9] (shown below, left). On June 8th, Tumblr user kanga-roux posted another photo of a biology exam with mitchondria described as "the powerhouse of the cell" (shown below, right).

Tumblr post with an image of an exam sheet asking about the function of the mitochondria

photo of an biology exam asking about the function of the mitochondria

On October 6th, Tumblr^[4] user perks-of-being-chinese posted the phrase "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell," which gathered more than 1,500 notes in the next month. On November 2nd, Tumblr^[3] user tylersivia-troyeoakley listed several things he learned in school, including "mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell" (shown below).

tylersivan-troyeoakley Follow ジ Things School Taught Me: how to get ready in under 4 minutes avoid straight white boys at all costs mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell #school 355 notes

On December 8th, Tumblr blog Meme Passion^[8] highlighted the original post and described the meme as a "reflection of adolescents" general dissatisfaction with the school system. On December 15th, BuzzFeed^[5] included a multiple choice about mitochondrion in a quiz article titled "Could You Possibly Get A High School Diploma Now?"^[7] On May 26th, 2015, BuzzFeed featured another quiz^[6] specifically pertaining to facts about mitochondrion.