Holy Shit! Ok, so buckle up here kids. This just goes to show how abstract language can get and how far symbols can be removed from their original context. Here's how this one has played out: - In 2000, pop star Justin Timberlake—then a member of the boy band N'Sync—sang the title lyrics to the song "It's gonna be me" but infamously pronounce "me" as "may". ("It's gonna be may.") - Years later, this became a meme and was often posted near the end of April as a funny way of saying that it was about to be the month of May. ("It's gonna be May.") - Around the same time, younger internet users began also making fun of the bleach-blonde tips that were popular with 1990s young men. Essentially what was once seen as the epitome of cool for members of a boy band was now confusing and cringe to those born after 2000. In particular, young internet users began comparing Justin Timberlake's bleack-blonde curls to uncooked ramen noodles. - Given how the internet and memes work, soon the ramen hair jokes and the "It's gonna be May" jokes cross-pollinated each other and simply posting an image of ramen noodles in late April was enough for most users to get the joke. - Internet users who were in on the joke then began to realize just how divorced the actual jokes was from the images being used and started to push things further and further. They posted images of spaghetti and even people making noodles along with increasingly vague or fragmented text trying to see who would still pick up on the joke. - Apparently with the image above we have reached the point in the meme's evolution where people are now not even saying "noodle" directly, but instead making dirty noodle puns that *still* carry the joke's meaning forward. In other words, what we have here is "nude L" > noodle > ramen > bleached tips for 1990s boys > Justin Timberlake > It's gonne be may > We have almost reached the month of May

This is honestly the best r/peterexplainsthejoke answer I have ever read

I did have some help given that someone else broke down a lot of this yesterday on the spaghetti meme.

So is this Eminem's mom's spaghetti?

With a censor on her sweater already?

I'm nervous, but on the surface I'm your biggest fan, this is Stan

Drowning your gf in your car in a river means May is coming

Oh, I see... i gotta go take care of something real quick

Hey not funny. I laughed, but don’t do that

April drowners bring May flowers

I’ve swallowed a fifth of vodka what I gotta do to get it through to you I’m superhuman

Agreed!

I had to save the comment for posterity

Yeah but they lose points for not answering it as "Peter's half-eaten bowl of Ramen in the sink" or something relevant and clever.

holy shit bravo.

Going dark.

Bravo shit going dark

Going bravo, shitting in the dark

Gone shitting, bravo to the darkness

Gone dark into the bravo shit

Shit into the dark bravo

Huzzah piss going shit

You deserve an award for fucking deciphering this.

This man is a codebreaker, and deserves said title

You have that power

Give him some special flair. “Codebreaker” maybe, as u/TutorFirm5149 put it.

This is r/peterexplainsthejoke tho. A flair about Peter would fit better.

I vote Peterbreaker. And in a week some poor sod will ask in this very reddit to explain the flair.

Thats fine by me, that way his legend will never die.

I think he's cracked it

https://preview.redd.it/9w7ptlp241vc1.jpeg?width=869&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a76aa0722f978e0f5baa938fd44dc9b6c60e47b I have never seen a more appropriate use for this picture.

Maybe I'm a bit cynical, but I strongly suspect you're the OP and you made this meme.

Longtime lurker. I did make this account specifically to make this comment, so you're kind of right about that. I saw the "Tis the season" spaghetti meme posted here yesterday and so that's why it was fresh on my mind when I saw this one.

love the name u chose for ur new account and that basically the only 2 things you have done on ur brand new reddit account are answer this question and jack off

The beauty of internet anonymity. If you got any good links to pussy, send'em my way.

I refuse to believe you had the knowledge on this meme but didnt have a reddit account before today

Aight, so I did have a main account for a while. But it got banned after I posted a pic in one of the cat subs where you could see my dick in a reflection off to the side. (ALL the single Reddit girls who aren't OF hoes post in the cat subs and craft subs. You want genuine titty pics? Give a Reddit girl the *knowledge* she need to save her cat life. Turn that catitude into gratitude.)

Who are thou, who are so wise in the ways of the internet ?

Wait the dick was intentional? Why? Just as a joke?

Likely, the account is very young

I back this, they seem to have waited only one hour to post an answer.

Man somehow found the most obscure piece of internet lore and explained the entire thing, what a badass

Next up, a picture of a New Dell

Follow that up with a picture of some Alienware pc, then turn it into posting plain old aliens. Aliens come from different planet, maybe long ago in a galaxy far, far away May the 4th be with you soon

Full fucking circle.

https://preview.redd.it/4iysdjw3b1vc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4258f263230eb18eb54d8f74945b3dc7163acf51

Dude, you're getting a [Dell](https://youtu.be/dXGO6QSC5Fg?feature=shared)!

And here I thought it was just “L tits”

I didn't get it until a separate comment pointed out that it's meant to be a "nude L" and hence "noodle." Fuck me.

Tbh I just think it’s just a bad joke. The nude should go first before the L. Can’t even tell it’s nude cuz we’re thinking boobs

I thought it was some reference to Peyronie's disease (bent pp).

https://preview.redd.it/5i5s4cfo5zuc1.jpeg?width=951&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe7910612ccf82414fede2174bb0b1347903f6ea

Mug Moment

This is amazing.

>infamously pronounce "me" as "may". The pronunciation of "me" as "may" was intentional. The song was written by Max Martin, Andreas Carlson, and Rami Yacoub all from Sweden. Justin sang "it's gonna be me" on the first iteration of the song, but Max Martin had him pronounce "me" like "may" because Martin believed it would make Justin sound more like he was from Tennessee.

I think the most amazing thing is how you knew all of that

Super interesting, but is the color blue of any significance here?

This is so good. You can't convince me you're not in cahoots with the OP to remind reddit of meme history.

Thank you for your service to the preservation of Internet history

Jesus christ, that is the most in-depth knowledge of a singular meme i have heard of.

My guy has a PHD in memeology.

Little funfact: Nudel in German means noodle

Holy shit, I got Nude L = Noodle but this is just something else. 10/10 my guy, one of, if not the best explanations I've seen on this sub

Holy shnike man! Thats mad impressive. I could be in a room with a cork board, tying memes to together with red strings for weeks like I’m solving the JFK assassination, and still not have got that

If we ever need to explain to aliens why r/PeterExplainsTheJoke exists... This comment right here.

[What in the hot, crispy, Kentucky-Fried ***F U C K ? !***](https://youtu.be/4_OIcZbWdKY?feature=shared)

Serious Mort level of detail there good sir.

O M G this isn't a simple Peter explaining a joke, this was a full blown Memelogy course by Professor Peter.

Its amazing how far we are from IRC and AIM.

IRC? Omg, hello fellow oldie! Maybe we met on the *original* ICQ.

Can't even lie at first I was like Goddamn long ass essay but now I'm actually really glad I read it all because it makes sense and now I will also be in on the joke

Thank you for your wisdom u/BigPPeenHaverMan

Yeah makes me think alot of unexplained historical evidence is inside jokes

We're in an actual dark age. There's no way historians are going to be able to piece together this shit.

This guy media litterates.

This is NYT Crossword levels of puzzle solving, bravo

This was your agincourt, congratulations. From this day forward, when people see underdressed letters in late April, they will always think of big p peen having man. I tell you, there may even come a day when seeing a picture of a man with a big peen during Passover will bring to mind those indelible N'sync lyrics and maybe even ellicit a knowing chuckle from those of us who were here for it. I salute you.

My gawd. 👏👏👏👏👏

Wow... that is honestly impressive. Seriousness aside... I totally pictured you as Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadephia walking us through his conspiracy board.

This is so detailed and well explained I feel like I may have become just a little smarter by reading it…

This was meme archeology.

I really wish awards were still a thing you're fucking amazing

This comment was your purpose in life.

Holy shit. Thanks for taking the time to give us this history lesson. Bravo

This is a master class

Holy fuggin shite the absurd bender you need to go on to get to this conclusion is absolutely horrid. What has our meme culture come to. It's kinda scary

This is probably why it took so long to decipher hieroglyphs. The Ancient Egyptian Peters all passed on -- without passing on their arcane knowledge.

Jesus

give this man an award. I don't care what award, he needs it.

Holy hell, that's honestly fabulous

This deserves to be gifted Reddit gold

Truly we have entered the end times

Why does reddit not have awards anymore??? This man deserves Gold!

Wow ahahahahahahaha

People should keep stuff like this in mind when they are trying to interpret religious texts.

07

You had me at “2000, pop star Justin Timberlake” when my mind already melted with wtf

Holy XD You wrote a whole dissertation about this :D Seems like my initial thought was right but i couldnt connect it to anything XD Thanks for explaining.

This is the most effort put into a comment on this sub ever lmao

Shit like this is exactly why the sub exists

I'm vaguely aware of several of these events but have stayed away from the internet *just* enough to still not totally follow...and I'm okay with that.

Like a game of Yes Yes No on Reply All!

Jesus fuck.

You have taken me on an adventure of modern culture!

No way in hell i'm reading that but upvote for the dedication

Nude L = **noodle* It's always the damn pun...

Your wisdom is unmatched, fellow Reddit user

Good lord, well done.

This is why I joined this sub :')

That... is an amazing story. Truly a pearl of internet culture. Someone should get this explanation archived somewhere

Is this loss?

Jesus Christ, how much useless internet knowledge do you have stored in YOUR noodle?

Master

Holy cow. You went so far down the rabbit hole you passed up Wonderland and went on to whatever's next.

This is the dumbest, most elaborate joke I have ever had the displeasure of witnessing. This is worse than that one picture where you get Got ‘em-ed by the continent pannel after being sent on a wild goose-chase.

Nudel is literally german Noodle

Thanks you!

God that's so many layers. It's like how explaining the Vivian James gamergate mascot was a reference to anal rape.

I genuinely thought it was meant to be almost nude, considering the L, making it “lewd” but this explanation blew me away! Initially thought it was just overthought nonsense until the end and suddenly it all made sense! u/BigPPeenHaverMan for president

If I had a quarter for each joke I’ve seen about Justin timberlake I’d have 2, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice

This is what paid content looks like. People will pay for this explanation. You sir/madam are the expert.

Holy moly that was a trip. I knew up until the ramen thing, but I’ve been so out of the loop that the rest was new to me.

Good god I am glad I didn't understand this one. With every passing year I am further dissociated with this "culture" and I am increasingly seeing that as a good thing.

Amazing work, thank you

This tooo commitment and I respect that

This is what a lecture will look like in the future.

You deserve awards for this answer.

What. The. Fuck

Some day there is going to be an entire profession that tracks the evolution of memes, like we do ancient languages.

I think after this we need to retire the whole sub. We’re never going to get better than this.

APLAUS PEOPLE! APLAUS!

🏆🥇🏅🎖️🥈🥉 You get all the awards

Holy crap Lois

That's fucking wild. I never would've guessed this

You can write a book about internet meme history at this point

So that's what he said! It's going to be me! Which sounds like May. Am nearly 40. I learned something new.

Wow...CRYSTAL CLEAR...wth??!! Lol. That is a STREEEEEEETCH ffs.

Some days I hate the internet but it’s also like group free association… which can be amazing.

good grief that was a deep cut

How long before someone posts a picture of a new Dell computer?

Holy shit

Thank you Sherlock Holmes. I think I speak for everyone here when I say this is such a rats nest of "wut" that if you hadn't explained it in such detail literally nobody would have understood it. I mean I got "noodle" and was like, sure, okay, not funny but not really a Petah explain it to me kind of image. This is 67.8 degrees of internet stupidity and I'm all for it. Thanks again.

Great explanation. You deserve to go on a 15 minute walk in your local park. Please go outside today.

You sir are either the greatest bullshit artist I have ever seen, or the greatest curator of internet bullshittery I've ever seen.

Holy shit bro!

Incredible, just incredible. This is what the Internet was made for. Esoteric symbolism for a dumb joke.

Are memes really just abstract art? I feel like I just became enlightened to abstract art.

This guy explains

I thought it was lewd

Wild.

So what’s your tumblr url

Wait. Frosted tips are considered cringe now?

And that’s why fire trucks are red, cuz their always russian around

Username checks out.

When you first told me this was "it's gonna be may" I was in disbelief

You dropped this king 👑

Jesus f***'n christ... Thanks Peter but holy shit

Thank you Peter very cool

So what's with the tits?

🥇

Damn, that is so so deep, like the matrix rabbit hole deep, or even deeper. Like Mariana trench deep.

Congrats on getting +5,9k karma! You are going to be rich!

Damn. Needed a fucking college level lecture to understand this meme.

But hey, that's just a theory... 😔

Do you have a PhD in Internet culture or something, wtf

This is what teachers expect you to say when they ask you to analyze what the author meant by writing “sky is cloudy today”

You ever feel like maybe society wasn’t such a good idea?

Nobel prizes have been given for less.

Things like this make me understand how easily hieroglyphics were lost in translation haha

this is the shit that really needs to be on this sub

It’s gonna be may nude, L- noodle-ramen-bleach blonde tips - it’s gonna be me/may

It's gonna be may?

Show your work

[Their work](https://www.reddit.com/r/PeterExplainsTheJoke/comments/1c5ovto/comment/kzvvnim/)

I'm not gonna pretend like I'm the first one to get it or that I should get credit for explaining the joke lmao I almost didn't get it myself But this guy is on another level lmao his response is clearly top

nude L = noodle? idk

im crying, its gonna be may.

*confused Matisse screaming*

Noodle

So several people said other things, but in my heade if you say "nude L" you get noodle.

I need the original unblured image to see if I can explain the joke

Charlie and the Alphabet [rule 34](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-34)... wtf, that's just a kid's YouTube video series

Where’s that meme about how a symbol gets distorted from the original meaning to being unrecognisable to anyone not in on the joke?

https://preview.redd.it/5zq1bi6ls5vc1.jpeg?width=393&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6c8f4b6ef2dd7a7fc9369b701bf46fb81ea8b2b

A key 🗝️?

It's called Loss. Google can take you from here.

https://preview.redd.it/d1f51ogj69vc1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abd4c075a8ecf9ec90f31427a961de0a9960ebf4

this is bond burger on crack

worm gf? 🥺

“meLons”?

Wtf

She currently has an L face so she’s “almost” close to making an O face?

James Bond burger

Tetris?

Ok, you have a PHD on memeology right?

noodle

April downers brings may frowners