Internet sensation discovered at the National Archives

Today’s post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty.

A PARKA SQUIRREL, OR “SIKSIKPUK,” THE ESKIMOS MAKE THEIR WARMEST WINTER PARKAS FROM THE PELTS OF THE PARKA SQUIRREL, 08/1973 (412-DA-7983)

Internet memes are a new phenomenon. What is an Internet meme? It’s a random, quirky, ‘thing’ that takes the Internet by storm and for the briefest of moments enters the American dialogue. Often times logging in millions of hits for no apparent reason, Internet memes are as whimsical as the Internet search itself. No one really knows where they come from or why a guy talking about a double rainbow draws us in. The simple fact is they do (please note this is an external link).

One Internet meme has logged over 24 million views on YouTube, and is a five second clip of a gopher turning his head to dramatic music. Spinoffs were made, YouTube links e-mailed, and now more people have watched “Dramatic Look” than watched the LOST Series finale (also an external link).

It seems that the Environmental Protection Agency captured the dramatic look long before YouTube subscriber Magnets99 did though, with the image above. This Siksikpuk was unavailable for comment according to its agent. For more on these EPA images, read our Prologue article on DOCUMERICA.

Where this page came from

This page was imported from National Archives, Pieces of History. Published on the National Archives' Pieces of History blog and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain; pictures credited elsewhere are left out.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.