Shrimps Is Bugs
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About
Shrimps Is Bugs is a catchphrase popularized through a viral post to the /r/TattooDesigns subreddit in which a man asks for coverup suggestions for a tattoo that reads, "shrimps is bugs." The post was made in May 2023 and went viral, with many commenters suggesting the tattoo was funny and should not be covered up. The post inspired others to get tattoos featuring the phrase over the following months, many of which are shared to the /r/ShrimpsIsBugs subreddit, which boasts over 20,000 members as of January 2024.
Origin
On May 16th, 2023, Redditor u/Lewbular posted a photograph of a tattoo above his knee that reads, "shrimps is bugs" to the /r/TattooDesigns[1] subreddit. The post is titled "Cover up suggestions?" and in the description he writes, "I need ideas for a horizontal design for this dumb tattoo I got above my knee when I was 19. I like American traditional/black and grey type stuff but I haven’t been able to find any designs that would cover it and look good. Any ideas are appreciated. P.s. the little guy above it can stay or go as long as shrimps is bugs is covered." The post gained over 16,000 upvotes in eight months (shown below).
The post garnered over 2,100 comments in the same span of time, with some of the most popular discouraging him from removing the tattoo due to its comedic value (examples shown below).
Spread
On May 17th, 2023, the /r/ShrimpsIsBugs[2] subreddit was opened, garnering over 20,000 members over the next eight months. On May 20th, u/Lewbular, the owner of the original tattoo, posted to /r/ShrimpsIsBugs,[3] "….holy shit Alright fine I’ll keep it," garnering over 2,400 upvotes in eight months (shown below).
That month, people began designing and getting new "shrimps is bugs" tattoos. On May 21st, u/ZestyCthulhu posted a mockup design for a more elaborate "shrimps is bugs" tattoo to /r/TattooDesigns,[4] garnering over 9,100 upvotes in eight months (shown below, left). On May 29th, u/Hand_shoes posted a photo to /r/tattoos[5] of their "shrimps is bugs" tattoo, garnering over 1,100 upvotes in eight months (shown below, right).
On June 26th, 2023, u/g0back2bed posted a photo of a "shrimps is bugs" cake to /r/ShrimpsIsBugs,[6] garnering over 1,100 upvotes in seven months. On September 2nd, u/TyrannosaurusWreckd posted a version of the tattoo to /r/ShrimpsIsBugs[7] that gained over 4,500 upvotes in four months (shown below).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Reddit – TattooDesigns
[2] Reddit – ShrimpsIsBugs
[4] Reddit – ZestyCthulhu
[5] Reddit – Hand_shoes
[6] Reddit – g0back2bed
[7] Reddit – TyrannosaurusWreckd
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