| “ | Oil floats on water. Step 1- Cover yourself in oil. Step 2-Wait for it to rain. Step 3-Fly." | ” |
| The quote associated with the meme. | ||
Description[]
Cover Yourself in Oil is a rage comics and troll science character in which a person covers themselves in oil and manages to fly in the rain due to oil being less dense than water. It is also a shitpost meme that was first posted on 9GAG featuring the rage comic character Trollface made in February 12, 2020, and it was interpreted by many as a repost of an older meme and was later reimagined in ironic memes. Some people think that he is the enemy of Trollge for replacing him.
History[]
On February 12, 2020, a 9GAG user bebelik, formerly gegirik, posted an original four-panel Troll Science meme in which a person covers itself in oil and manages to fly in rain by exploiting the fact that oil is less dense than water. The post received over 10,700 points within eight months.[1][2][3] Ever since the meme was first seen, people have made parodies of said meme, with custom steps, or a plot twist.
Web usage[]
On February 13, an unknown Redditor reposted a lower-quality version of the image to r/4PanelCringe subreddit.[4] The post received over 8,100 upvotes prior to being deleted. On February 14, the image was shared in r/trollscience, r/ComedyArchaelogy and r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu subreddits,[5][6][7] with many commenters assuming that the image originated in early 2010s during the peak popularity of Troll Physics memes.[8][9]
On February 15, 2020, Redditor IMainRicochet made the earliest known derivative meme based on the comic, replacing the last panel with the "ball crush" panel.[10] The edit received over 10,500 upvotes in r/okbuddyretard in six months.
Starting in mid-February 2020, edits based on the comic started gaining popularity in ironic meme communities on Reddit. A February 21, 2020 post by Redditor happiness_generator received over 6,000 upvotes in r/ShitPostCrusaders subreddit in six months.[11] A March 2, 2020, post by Redditor r_pote gained over 9,200 upvotes in r/ComedyNecrophilia in the same period.[12]
In the following months, the format maintained moderate popularity on Reddit, with r/ComedyNecrophilia becoming the largest driver behind the meme's growth. Starting in mid-November 2020, the meme gained larger spread online, with multiple viral examples posted on Twitter and Instagram.
References[]
- ↑ bebelik (February 12, 2020). "Troll physics babeyy". 9GAG. Retrieved on May 4, 2025.
- ↑ https://9gag.com/u/bebelik/posts
- ↑ https://9gag.com/gag/aVwpjpM#cs_comment_id=c_160650691009222993
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/4PanelCringe/comments/f3lvz0/found_on_instagram/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/trollscience/comments/f3p91n/problem_gravity/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/ComedyArchaeology/comments/f3sja0/so_nostalgic/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu/comments/f3oq85/problem/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/4PanelCringe/comments/f3lvz0/found_on_instagram/fhk1ivv/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/4PanelCringe/comments/f3lvz0/found_on_instagram/fhnhkl8/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/okbuddyretard/comments/f4d75q/epic_troll/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitPostCrusaders/comments/f7m2k3/scuse_me/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/ComedyNecrophilia/comments/fc4i1g/oil_floats_on_water/
External links[]
- Know Your Meme - Cover Yourself in Oil