There are a few key reasons why shrimp memes have become so popular recently:
The viral "shrimps is bugs" tattoo post on Reddit sparked a huge meme trend. In May 2023, a Reddit user posted asking for advice on covering up his poorly spelled "shrimps is bugs" tattoo, which went massively viral and spawned countless memes and even a dedicated subreddit.[1][2][3] People found the misspelling and absurdity of the tattoo hilarious, leading to an explosion of shrimp-themed jokes and memes.
The niche Instagram meme account @207poundsofshrimp gained a cult following. This account solely posts bizarre, random shrimp memes and jokes, capturing the internet's love of weird, hyper-specific humor.[1] Its popularity helped drive the shrimp meme phenomenon.
Shrimp's status as a beloved but somewhat random food makes it ripe for meme-ing. The juxtaposition of the humble shrimp with outlandish meme formats and jokes resonates with many as an amusing form of anti-humor.[1][5] Shrimp's popularity in chain restaurants like Red Lobster also contributes to its meme-ability.[1][5]
So in summary, the perfect storm of a viral tattoo fail, a dedicated shrimp meme account, and shrimp's inherent meme potential as a food all converged to create the recent shrimp meme craze across social media.[1][2][3][5]
