About

Woman Saying "30,000?" refers to a soundbite where gentle music is playing while Ruby Franke exclaims "30,000?" into a phone and then cries. Although it became associated with "Stan Twitter," as well as becoming a notable TikTok sound in early 2022, it originates from a 2017 YouTube video of a vlog made by a blonde mom, or Karen, whose house became filled with smoke.

Origin

On April 3rd, 2017, the family vlog YouTube^[1] channel 8 Passengers posted a video titled "❗️Dangerous Smoke Disaster❗️" where the family is dealing with a cooking accident that caused smoke to billow in their home. At the 4:28-minute mark, the mother is on the phone with their insurance company and the representative on the other side tells her something that prompts her to say "30,000?" in shock (shown below). It's never stated in the video what the "30,000" is but it nonetheless "floors" the woman. Over the course of five years, the video received roughly 2.9 million views.

Spread

On May 20th, 2021, the TikTok^[2] account cropmeme posted a cropped version of the aforementioned YouTube video, earning roughly 434,100 plays and 84,100 likes (shown below, left). This is the first known reposting of the clip despite likely prior usage on Twitter. TikTokers started using the cropmeme's video as a sound in their own videos going into May 2021. For instance, on May 27th, 2021, TikToker^[3] jacksononascoota used the audio with a caption that read, "when someone asks what comes after 29,999," earning roughly 40,300 plays and 8,400 likes in one year (shown below, right).

On May 29th, 2021, a moldy version of the aforementioned video was posted to YouTube by the channel PERIOT, earning roughly 2,400 likes in one year (show below, left). In the title of the video, it alludes that the video's usage came from "Stan Twitter," however, this usage is currently un-discoverable.

On December 29th, 2021, the YouTuber Ethan Teehee also uploaded the moldy clip, earning roughly 1.2 million likes over the course of six months (shown below, right).

In late December 2021, evidence of Twitter users captioning the video can be found. For instance, on December 30th, 2021, Twitter^[4] user BumbIeben captioned it, "Americans when they hear the cost of looking at the hospital building," earning over 45 likes in six months (shown below).

Americans when they hear the cost of looking at the hospital building pic.twitter.com/0xarNXggfH

— 🍍ben (@BumbIeben) December 31, 2021

On April 20th, 2022, TikToker^[5] prestonisoverparty green-screened the woman saying 30,000 over a background of an Urban Outfitters store. The video had a text overlay reading, "POV: you pick out a shirt in urban outfitters and check the price tag," and over the course of one month, it received roughly 3.4 million plays and 642,900 likes (shown below, left).

Going into May 2022, prestonisoverparty's TikTok inspired many TikTokers to create their own videos using the sound. For instance, on May 7th, 2022, TikToker^[6] flissieb posted a video about how expensive coffee is at independent shops, earning roughly 5 million plays and 1.1 million likes in four weeks (shown below, right).

By May 27th, 2022, TikToker prestonisoverparty's sound^[7] amassed roughly 103,400 videos.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References