The rise of brainrot

🧠 The Rise of Brainrot: A Complete History of the Internet’s Strangest Obsession

What Is Brainrot?

Brainrot is a term coined by internet users to describe a genre of intentionally absurd, chaotic, and low-effort meme content that seems nonsensical at first glance but becomes addictively entertaining. It often relies on:

  • Repetitive audio

  • Unreal or uncanny 3D animation

  • Distorted or exaggerated characters

  • Memes that spread fast, usually among younger audiences on YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Reels

📜 The Origins of Brainrot

Brainrot began as a mutation of meme culture in the late 2010s, but exploded in the early 2020s with the rise of short-form content platforms. These platforms favored low-effort, fast-paced humor that often didn’t make logical sense but could easily go viral.

It reflects a shift in attention spans, digital irony, and post-meme surrealism — a space once filled by creators like Siivagunner, FlyingKitty, and MeatCanyon but now dominated by chaotic, AI-voiced, and 3D-animated content.

🧟♂️ The Era of Brainrot Characters (2021–Present)

Here are the major types of brainrot characters, sorted by category and date of rise:

🚽 1. Skibidi Toilet

  • Created by: DaFuq!?Boom!

  • First Appearance: February 2023

  • Peak Popularity: Mid to late 2023

  • Style: Hyper-chaotic 3D animation featuring a singing head popping out of a toilet, battling characters like the Cameramen or Speakermen.

  • Platform: YouTube Shorts

  • Why It’s Brainrot: Repetitive beats, bizarre visuals, lore that somehow keeps expanding despite being nonsensical.

🔊 2. Tung Tung Sahur (Bangun Sahur)

  • Origin: Indonesia, adapted from Islamic Ramadan wake-up drumming traditions

  • Viral Format: Kids shouting "Tung Tung Sahur!" with loud, looping, low-quality sound

  • Peak Popularity: Ramadan season, especially 2023 and 2024

  • Why It’s Brainrot: Endlessly loopable sound and exaggerated performances make it addictive and unexplainably funny, especially to younger kids.

🧌 3. Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny

  • Type: Reaction image meme that escalates with horror

  • First Appearance: Late 2021

  • Why It’s Brainrot: Starts as a normal meme format but devolves into increasingly cursed territory — often edited to surreal and uncomfortable extremes.

🎺 4. Gigachad / Sigma Grindset Memes

  • Format: Ultra-edited montages of "alpha male" lifestyle

  • Popularized: 2021–2022

  • Brainrot Factor: Overuse of distorted audio, NPC logic, and sped-up animations turned this once-serious content into ironic garbage gold.

👶 5. Ohio Memes

  • Format: “Only in Ohio” bizarre video edits

  • Popularized: 2022

  • Why It’s Brainrot: Random video game glitches, physics-defying stunts, or cursed animations all supposedly happening in “Ohio” — the internet’s punching bag for surreal chaos.

🤖 6. Sigma Toilet / Camera Man / Meme Universe Crossovers

  • Built on: The success of Skibidi Toilet

  • Includes: AI-generated lore, battles between toilets, cameramen, TVs, and other surreal characters

  • Why It’s Brainrot: Kids treat it like real anime, even though it’s full of fart sounds, headless torsos, and recycled fight loops.

🦍 7. Banana Kong / Talking Ben / Obby Roblox Crossovers

  • Platform: YouTube Kids, Shorts, TikTok

  • Format: Low-effort 3D games mashed together with chaotic voice lines

  • Brainrot Factor: Nonsensical sound design + AI voices + "Ben? Hoo hoo" = magic formula for overexposure.

🧃 8. Pink Sauce / Grimace Shake Lore

  • Not traditional brainrot, but still relevant

  • Why It’s Brainrot: Urban legend energy meets TikTok absurdity. You drink Grimace Shake and immediately enter cursed hallucinations.

🧠 Why Does Brainrot Go Viral?

  • Loopable Format: These videos are designed to play endlessly, hooking viewers without even realizing.

  • AI + 3D Tools: Easy access to free 3D animation tools and AI voices means creators can pump out dozens of episodes weekly.

  • YouTube Algorithm: Shorts and autoplay strongly favor loud, fast, strange videos.

  • Cultural Meme Fluency: Gen Alpha (kids born after 2010) fluently speak brainrot — they don’t need context or logic.


    A Brief History of Italian Brainrot Memes

    Italian brainrot represents a fascinating evolution in internet culture that emerged in early 2025, combining AI-generated content with distinctly Italian comedic sensibilities. This digital phenomenon has captivated social media platforms, particularly TikTok, with its unique blend of surreal imagery and memorable catchphrases.

    Origins and Development

    The Italian brainrot movement began as a series of AI-generated videos featuring fantastical hybrid creatures narrated by Italian text-to-speech voices. These videos quickly gained traction due to their absurdist humor and highly shareable nature, creating a new subgenre within the broader "brainrot" meme category.

    Key Characters and Phrases

    Brr Brr Patapim

    One of the most recognizable figures in Italian brainrot, Brr Brr Patapim is described as a tree forest-monkey hybrid creature with distinctive large feet. This AI-generated character has become synonymous with the movement's aesthetic of combining natural elements with anthropomorphic features.

    Tung Tung Tung Sahur

    Perhaps the most viral of all Italian brainrot characters, Tung Tung Tung Sahur appears as an anthropomorphic wooden creature wielding a baseball bat. The character is often accompanied by Indonesian voice-overs, creating an international fusion that adds to its appeal. The repetitive "Tung Tung Tung" chant has become a recognizable audio signature across social media platforms.

    Other Notable Characters

    The Italian brainrot universe includes numerous other characters such as Bombardino Crocodilo (a military bomber-crocodile hybrid), Ballerina Cappuccina (a ballerina with a cappuccino head), and Tralalero Tralala (a shark wearing Nike shoes), each contributing to the movement's rich mythology.

    Cultural Impact and SEO Significance

    Italian brainrot has transcended simple meme status to become a cultural phenomenon that generates significant online engagement. The movement has spawned dedicated games, tier lists, and extensive fan communities. For content creators and website owners, Italian brainrot represents a powerful SEO opportunity due to its high search volume and active community engagement.

    The phrases "Brr Brr Patapim" and "Tung Tung Tung Sahur" have become particularly valuable keywords, often trending across multiple social media platforms simultaneously. This makes Italian brainrot content highly effective for driving organic traffic and improving search engine visibility.

    The AI Element

    What sets Italian brainrot apart from traditional memes is its heavy reliance on AI-generated imagery and speech. This technological foundation allows for endless creative possibilities and rapid content generation, contributing to the movement's explosive growth and maintaining its relevance in fast-moving internet culture.

    The combination of AI technology with distinctly Italian cultural elements has created a unique digital export that showcases Italy's influence in contemporary internet culture, moving beyond traditional stereotypes to embrace a more avant-garde digital identity.


📈 The Future of Brainrot

Brainrot will continue to evolve with technology:

  • AI tools like Runway and ElevenLabs are enabling even faster creation

  • Custom brainrot characters may be generated by users in real-time

  • Expect even more hyper-niche universes, blending TikTok trends, AI storylines, and 3D animation

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