The virtual realm has taken a surprising turn towards the concrete, quite literally. Utah State University's Digital Folklore Project has anointed the Chicago Rat Hole meme as its Digital Lore of the Year for 2024, a meme that celebrates, in its quirky way, an imprint of a rat on the sidewalk. According to Utah State Today, the imprinted rat, which lingered for an unknown period, sparked an array of user-generated content, tweets, TikTok videos, and humorous takes on the imprint that resonated deeply with people this year.
The meme's appeal seems to extend far beyond its humor, speaking to something more profound in the collective psyche. "If you ever felt like you were trying to pull yourself out of a rat hole and were being dragged down by concrete, this meme is for you," Jeannie Thomas, co-director of the Digital Folklore Project, explained, as per Utah State Today. Lynne McNeill, her fellow co-director at USU, shared a similar sentiment about the Rat Hole's symbolic weight, remarking on the tradition of pilgrimages to the site and the diverse interpretations it provokes among visitors. She went on to say, "People don’t make pilgrimages to a spot on the sidewalk for no reason. There’s a resonance here that speaks to how we’re collectively feeling," highlighting the shared humanity that the meme represents.
The selection process for Digital Lore of the Year involves both USU students and faculty who separate the wheat from the chaff, identifying trends that have that ineffable cultural significance. This year's runner-up was the "Scram Leave Her Alone" meme which harkens back to a more vintage vernacular. The third spot was claimed by an eclectic mix ranging from TikTok questions about British dishwashing habits to the playful "very demure, very mindful" phrase adoptions.
