About

"Try not to laugh or grin" is a naming convention fad of some Youtube videos, popular particularly in October of 2008. Each video is different, and there are some variations in title. Although the concept is similar to the You Laugh, You Lose meme present on 4chan, it is unclear whether this fad came from the 4chan meme, or if it is an example of convergent memetic evolution.

Examples

On October 6th, 2008 a Youtuber by the name of Gmaerking310 uploaded a looping video of the Dancing Stormtrooper entitled "Try not laugh or grin while watching." The video has around 700,000 views.

On October 26th, 2008, Curtisthehedgehog uploaded "try not to laugh or grin at this video" using a looping animation of a Bunchie. This video has over 100,000 views.

On October 30th, Leviboy07 uploaded "Try not to laugh or grin while watching this," a montage of found images. This video has over 600,000 views.