![There Are Two Types of People There Are Two Types of People](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/square/000/016/939/twokinds.png)
There Are Two Types of People
About
"There are Two Types of People" is a colloquial expression used to preface a statement that generalizes and juxtaposes people into two polar opposite groups based on their personal behaviors or preferences. On Tumblr,[7] the phrase is typically inserted as a comment on an image post or ongoing conversation to highlight the discussion topic as the definitive indicator of which of the two groups each reader belongs to.
Origin
The phrase has been used as an rhetorical device for centuries, long before the invention of the Internet. The earliest known usage of the expression on record can be found in a quote attributed to the 19th-century American novelist and writer Mark Twain:[3]
![a4e.png "THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE. PEOPLE WHO ACCOMPLISH THINGS AND PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THINGS.THE FIRST GROUP S LESS CROWDED" MARK TWAIN O Lifehack Quotes](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/873/899/a4e.png)
One of the earliest parodies of this expression, and possibly the original instance of the meme as it exists today, can be traced to the widespread binary computer joke which goes:
"there are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't."
Spread
Since the early 2000s, compilations of famous quotes employing the rhetorical device have been circulating online. On June 19th, 2005, Metafilter user Nick Douglas submitted an AskMetafilter post[5] titled "There are __ types of people), which led to a discussion of various quotes in films and books that are based on the phrasal template. On December 12th, 2007, StraightDope forum user Wargamer started a discussion thread[4] titled "Post your original "Two types of People" Jokes," yielding nearly 70 responses in the following 72 hours.
On September 19th, 2012, YouTuber Honsco[9] uploaded a supercut compilation of related quotes from various movie scenes, garnering more than 268,000 views in just over two years. On April 27th, 2013, BuzzFeed ran a compilation of examples, most of them taken from Tumblr conversations, in an article titled "There Are Two Types Of People In This World".[1] On September 17th, 2014, Bored Panda published an article titled "There Are Two Kinds Of People: Do You Recognize Yourself?", consisting of a series of minimalist infographics outlining common dichotomies in everyday life.[2]
Notable Examples
![ab3.jpg There are two kinds of people. "edge" Alarm 07.00 O 07.05 07.10 07.15 07.20 07.00 O](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/873/502/ab3.jpg)
![262.jpg Two types of people that annoy me Drunk people when I'm sober. Sober people when I'm drunk.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/873/507/262.jpg)
![871.jpg THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD zomato © 2008-2014-Zomato" Media Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/873/536/871.jpg)
![900.jpg my-golly-miss-paul 76,506 holy-tax-accountant batman fairgroundsoldier 01012012 friendly reminder that after each passing day you are closer to finding your soulmate and your grave Source: 01012012](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/873/546/900.jpg)
2 Kinds of People
On March 31st, 2015, Lisbon-based Portuguese art director João Rocha, who has previously created the viral Tumblr sensation Kim Jong Il Looking At Things, launched the single topic blog "2 Kinds of People"[11] with a series of original graphic illustrations highlighting a range of polar-opposite technological behaviors, habits and preferences among people (shown below). Since its launch, the blog has published 18 illustrations, with each post garnering at least 200 notes or more.
![>bing や。 く > 2KINDSOFPEOPLE.TUMBLR.COM 2KINDSOFPEOPLE.TUMBLR.COM BOOKMARKS RESOURCES COMICS BOOKMARKS RESOURCES COMICS BING BARSEARCH AVG SEARCH YAHOO WE ASK ▽ | SEARCH THE WEB](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/977/140/206.jpg)
![the little red bubble 948 592 2.163](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/977/139/88e.jpg)
![WiFi SSID 0-1) | AIRPORT: ON TURN AIRPORT OFF 4290 D 4 JUN 12:30 PM 42% D 4 JUN 12:30 PM AIRPORT: ON TURN AIRPORT OFF LINKSYS AC1900 NETGEAR X6 ASUS AC3200 APPLE AIRPORT D-LINK AC3200 TP-LINK WR841N TELL MY WI-FI LOVE HER ALL YOUR BANDWITH ARE BELONG TO US PRETTY FLY FOR A WI-FI HIDE YO KIDS HIDE YO WI-FI BILL WI THE SCIENCE FI EHRMAGERD WER FER JOIN OTHER NETWORK CREATE NETWORK OPEN NETWORK PREFERENCES JOIN OTHER NETWORK CREATE NETWORK OPEN NETWORK PREFERENCES](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/977/423/421.jpg)
![Arranging Mobile Apps GAMES MUSIC SOCIAL CLASH TEMPLE UTILITIES NEWS TRAVEL WHAT CLEAR PODCAST](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/977/422/dca.jpg)
![Setting Alarm 07:00 o 0725 cO 07:35 Co ALARM ALARM ALARM ALARM](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/977/421/266.jpg)
![Arranging Books GV9 009 LLI 301n9 ll 9 IS 30 0189 0 0 101n9 N9IS30 0189 0E9 GV9](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/977/419/186.jpg)
Search Interest
External References
[1] Buzzfeed – There Are Two Types Of People In This World
[2] Boredpanda – There Are Two Kinds Of People: Do You Recognize Yourself?
[3] BrainyQuote – Mark Twain
[4] StraightDope – Post your original "Two types of People" Jokes
[5] MetaFilter – There are __ types of people
[6] TV Tropes – There Are Two Kinds of People in the World
[7] Tumblr – Tagged Results for 'Two Types of People'
[8] Washington Post – “There are two types of people in this world…”
[9] YouTube – GREAT MOVIE CLICHES: There are Two Kinds of People
[10] Reddit – There are two types of people in this world
[11] Tumblr – 2 Kinds of People
Top Comments
Particle Mare
Dec 02, 2014 at 05:18AM EST
Pudding01
Dec 03, 2014 at 03:19PM EST