Last year was the year for weird and wonderful memes. 2018 saw some classics such as They Did Surgery On A Grape, My Yé is different to your Yé and Video Killed The Radio Star. All were weird concepts, but this year seems to have already out done it. Introducing the Big Chungus meme: The newest viral meme that has left us all questioning our sanity. So what is this meme? What does it even mean? And where on earth did it come from?
What does the Big Chungus meme mean?
According to Urban Dictionary, one of the top definitions for "Chungus" is: "An overweight giant earth destroying, god killing rabbit." In the memes, it's basically a picture of a fat Bugs Bunny.
Here he is, the Big Chungus
"Big Chungus" refers to an image of the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, usually presented as a game for a PlayStation 4 console. The word "chungus" was coined by video game journalist Jim Sterling years before the meme went viral. He would often use the term out of context, with no real meaning.
As the coiner of Chungus, it’s weird seeing it pop up independently. I feel like my small business has been squeezed out by Big Chungus.
— Jim Sterling (@JimSterling) December 23, 2018
Where did it come from?
According to KnowYourMeme, the picture of the fat Bugs Bunny is from an original Looney Tunes cartoon aired in 1941. It comes at the end of the scene from the episode "Wabbit Twouble".
The meme started out on Reddit, and then captioned pictures of the giant Bugs Bunny resurfaced in meme groups on Facebook.
The picture and the phrase were first seen together in March last year on Reddit, but the picture wasn't made public until it was shared in a public thread in December. Reddit user GaryTheTaco claims ownership to the picture on the front of the PlayStation 4 game.
Buy My Game £11.99 pic.twitter.com/5oWj0aQFSf
— Big Chungus ???? (@Craig92496764) January 12, 2019
The meme has spread to Twitter, and has now expanded to just refer to anything that's oversized. There's people on there calling their cats Big Chungus, their food Big Chungus and even their mums Big Chungus. Brutal.
The best examples of the Big Chungus meme
@NoContextBandan @NoContextKRool @NoContextDedede I am the new no context man! pic.twitter.com/aqfNPlHi3b
— No Context Big Chungus (@BigChun18443599) January 11, 2019
Just saw the newest #MickeyMouse short on YouTube, and all I can say is.
Is Disney trying so hard to imitate Big Chungus? pic.twitter.com/jRIsWekcte
— Baby Lamb (@BabyLamb5) January 12, 2019
I want a girl with a short skirt and a big chungus
— SWIM☆ (@loser_alert) January 14, 2019
I ❤️ big chungus. pic.twitter.com/HR64iophrn
— Big Chungus (@enormouschungus) January 12, 2019
The meme necessities of life will come to you pic.twitter.com/8IFSYQQ7jz
— No Context Big Chungus (@BigChun18443599) January 12, 2019
The Big Chungus song
The concept has grown so rapidly that there is also a Big Chungus song.
YouTuber Pewdiepie also did his own version of the song and there is a song available to download on iTunes. There's loads of different variations of the song on YouTube.
Basically, it works as a meme because it's so weird, and nobody can really explain it or why it's funny – it just is. Don't question it.
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