Chuck Norris facts are
satirical factoids about
martial artist and actor
Chuck Norris that have become an
Internet phenomenon and as a result have
become widespread in
popular
culture. The facts are normally absurd hyperbolic claims about
Norris's toughness, attitude,
virility,
sophistication, and
masculinity. Some of
the most famous examples include:
- "When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn't get
wet. Water gets Chuck Norris."
- "When Chuck Norris does pushups, he doesn't lift himself up. He
pushes the world down."
- "Chuck Norris's tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries.
Ever."
- "If Chuck Norris is late, time better slow down."
The facts typically claim that
Chuck
Norris is a tough, all-powerful super-being. Chuck Norris facts
have spread around the world, leading not only to translated
versions, but also spawning localized versions mentioning
country-specific advertisements and other
Internet phenomena. Allusions are also
sometimes made to his use of
roundhouse
kicks to perform seemingly any task, his large amount of body
hair with specific regard to his beard, and his role in the action
television series
Walker, Texas
Ranger.
Background
Chuck Norris Facts originally started appearing on the Internet in
early 2005.
Conan O'Brien's Chuck
Norris jokes on
Late
Night with Conan O'Brien (which generally center on
Walker, Texas Ranger)
have been seen as an inspiration for the fad. Chuck Norris Facts
followed facts based on actors
Vin Diesel,
Mr.
T, and
Bob Saget. The exaggerated
style of these facts is similar to a recurring
Saturday Night Live sketch called
"
Bill Brasky". These are similar to
tall tales such as those of
Paul Bunyan. Chuck Norris Facts surged into the
gaming community shortly after a Chuck Norris Fact generator was
introduced as a
World of
Warcraft add-on in early 2006. The topic itself is most
popular in the Barrens area of the game, an area that the majority
of players affiliated with the Horde faction go through in order to
progress in the game. Often the mere mention of Chuck Norris in the
game, especially in the Barrens area will cause players present to
begin quoting random Chuck Norris facts, both from websites, and
ones devised by the players themselves.
Norris's response
Chuck Norris responded to the Chuck
Norris Facts on his official website, chucknorris.com, with a
statement.He was generally surprised and flattered by the
attention. Admitting some of the statements were indeed humorous,
he tries not to take any of them seriously, and he hopes that such
statements will interest people in real facts about Chuck Norris
contained in his literary works.On October 23, 2006, Chuck Norris'
first column for
WorldNetDaily
consisted of yet another response. It began similarly to the above
quote from chucknorris.com, but then disclaimed Norris' own prowess
in favor of
God and
Jesus Christ.
One of the
satirical facts made of Norris
states that "There is no theory of
evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris
has allowed to live". Upon hearing this, Norris replied:
Norris appeared in a 2007 commercial for
Mountain Dew where he had his revenge on the
two fictional webmasters of a popular site that featured Norris in
a humorous style similar to that of the Chuck Norris Facts
meme.
On November 29, 2007,
Gotham Books, the
adult division of
Penguin USA,
released a book entitled
The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400
facts about the World's Greatest Human. Norris subsequently
filed suit in December against Penguin USA claiming "trademark
infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights".
Prominent mentions
- Norris has appeared on The
Tony Danza Show and The Best Damn Sports Show
Period, and has been questioned regarding the satirical
facts. In
the latter show, he read up the current Top 10 facts, as well as
mentioning his favorite one was "They once tried to carve Chuck
Norris' face into Mount
Rushmore
, but the
granite wasn't hard enough for his beard".
- In the March 20, 2006 issue, TIME magazine interviewed Chuck Norris,
calling him an "online cult hero." In the answer to their last
question, he called the Chuck Norris Facts "weird but wildly
popular sayings" and quoted one: "Chuck Norris can
divide by zero."
- On an episode of The Daily
Show in a parody of Alaskan senator Ted Stevens' comments about the Internet being a
"Series of tubes," John Hodgman stated that beneath every American
home there were indeed a series of tubes and they could be used to
send various pieces of information, mainly Chuck Norris Facts.
- On "Boys Do Cry," a 2007 episode of
Family Guy, Peter Griffin mentions a Chuck Norris Fact
that, when challenged by Brian, turns
out to be true when Chuck Norris suddenly appears and punches him
with a fist concealed under his beard.
- Chuck Norris plays a prominent role in the internet meme
"The Ultimate
Showdown of Ultimate Destiny."
- One of GaiaOnline's February 2006
'monthly collectibles' is presumably named after Chuck Norris. The
Item itself has an allusive name (Chyaku Norisu) and its
description resembles one of the Facts: "There are only two things
in the world that can cut diamonds ... other diamonds and CHYAKU
NORISU!!"
- Internet writer and author Maddox dedicated an entire chapter of his
bestseller The Alphabet of
Manliness to Chuck Norris facts.
- Governor Mike Huckabee, as a 2008
Republican Presidential Candidate, made a campaign video with Chuck
Norris called HuckChuckFacts. In it, he tells Chuck Norris facts,
while Norris responds with endorsements of Huckabee. Rival
Republican candidate Mitt Romney
responded with a Chuck Norris Fact-themed advertisement of his
own.
See also
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
