Have you or a loved used “It’s a no-bones day” as an excuse to get out of something yet?
Jonathan Graziano’s 13-year-old pug, Noodle, has become a mental and emotional barometer for TikTok and beyond over the last month or so. “Bones,” in this case, doesn’t refer to dog treats. It refers to Noodle’s actual bones, and whether they will cooperate on any given day.
In a typical TikTok (Graziano posted the first one in August), he sits next to Noodle’s bed and gradually lifts him into a sitting position. If Noodle stays upright, it’s a bones day. If Noodle flops back down, it’s a no-bones day. On Oct. 18, Noodle stayed up for a few seconds, and Graziano declared it a bones day, encouraging viewers to “treat” themselves in some way. That TikTok has more than 8 million views. (Today is a no-bones day, FYI.)
His videos have become so popular that people check in with the account to see what kind of day it will be for them as well. No bones is obviously more popular, as it gives us secondhand permission to Noodle out. People are consulting this sweet, sleepy pug like a daily forecast or horoscope. It’s become a meme, too, and there’s a Twitter account dedicated to updates about bones or no bones.
The popular Netflix series You also got in on the meme.
Graziano told Insider that this daily routine has been going since 2016, when he adopted Noodle from someone who couldn’t take care of him anymore. But he added that Noodle is the one who decides if he participates, stressing that “no TikTok video is more important than Noodle’s wellbeing.”
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