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Internet Culture

What in tarnation is the ‘wot in tarnation’ meme?

It all started with a ‘My Little Pony’ character.

Photo of David Covucci

David Covucci

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Applejack is a character in the new My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic series who likes to wear a brown stetson hat. 

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She also has a signature catchphrase: What in tarnation? 

That’s about all anyone would ever need to know for the longest time until, one day last month, a Tumblr user slapped the same hat on a Shiba Inu and asked the same question. 

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It’s bemused doge channeling My Little Pony

The meme picked up steam on Twitter, but it was only in recent days that it morphed into something truly wonderful. It’s a perfect meme template: So many things rhyme with the suffix “-ation,” and almost everything looks stupid when you slap an unnecessary cowboy hat on it. 

Like such: 

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https://twitter.com/ViraIMemes/status/835352751966158848

But it also works for celebrities already wearing cowboy hats. 

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https://twitter.com/edjiggy/status/835375044142325763

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OK, maybe Patrick Henry isn’t a celebrity but whatever. It works for all American legends. 

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Inanimate objects work great with this. 

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https://twitter.com/imcolenewton/status/834466596089311232

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https://twitter.com/alextre21/status/835194849989181440

https://twitter.com/LaziestCanine/status/835918764109520896

https://twitter.com/AudgeGibb/status/833532024891777025

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It got so good that a genius started the @WotInTarnation account to round up the best. And they are all so good. 

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Now you know what in tarnation ‘wot in tarnation’ is.

 
The Daily Dot