# 20 Minutes Adventure

"20 Minutes Adventure" is an exploitable meme from the animated series *Rick and Morty* where Rick Sanchez tells his grandson Morty "Let's go. In and out. Twenty minute adventure" before dragging him into a situation that goes catastrophically wrong[1]. Originating from the September 2017 episode "Rest and Ricklaxation," the format spread across Twitter and Reddit as a way to joke about plans that were supposed to be quick but spiraled out of control[1].

## Origin
The scene comes from "Rest and Ricklaxation," Season 3, Episode 6 of *Rick and Morty*, which aired on September 10, 2017, on Adult Swim[1]. In the cold open, Rick talks Morty into a quick trip through a portal to snatch a plasma shard in the Abadango cluster. He promises it will be easy. The show then smash-cuts to a title card reading "SIX DAYS LATER," revealing both characters crying and emotionally destroyed after nearly being killed by aliens[1].

The moment landed with fans immediately. Within days of the episode airing, screenshots and edits of the scene were circulating on Twitter[1].

- **Platform:** Adult Swim (*Rick and Morty* TV show), Twitter (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland (show creators), Unknown (community-created meme format)
- **Date:** 2017

## Overview
The meme uses a two-part structure pulled directly from a *Rick and Morty* cold open. In the first panel or beat, Rick confidently assures Morty that their next outing will be painless: "Let's go. In and out. Twenty minute adventure"[1]. The second part then reveals the grim aftermath, usually with a time card reading "SIX DAYS LATER" and both characters sobbing, traumatized, and visibly wrecked[1]. People swap in their own scenarios to describe anything that was meant to be brief but turned into an ordeal.

## How It Spread
The meme picked up steam on Twitter in mid-September 2017, riding the wave of *Rick and Morty* Season 3's massive cultural footprint[1]. Users began pairing Rick's "in and out, twenty minute adventure" quote with real-life situations that famously go longer or worse than expected. BroBible noted that the format arrived as the "Distracted Boyfriend" meme was winding down, calling it "the latest and greatest meme" at the time[1].

The format quickly expanded beyond screenshot edits. People applied it to everything from grocery store trips that turn into hour-long ordeals to video game sessions that devour entire nights. The two-panel contrast between confident expectation and ruined aftermath made it easy to adapt to almost any context. Reddit communities like r/rickandmorty and r/dankmemes adopted it heavily through September and October 2017.

## How to Use
The format typically follows a two-beat structure:
1. **The promise:** Use Rick's quote ("Let's go. In and out. 20 minute adventure") or a paraphrase, paired with a confident image of Rick. Label the situation you're about to enter.
2. **The reality:** Show the aftermath. This is often the screenshot of Rick and Morty sobbing with the "SIX DAYS LATER" card, or a custom image showing how badly things went.

## Cultural Impact
The meme rode the peak of *Rick and Morty* fandom in 2017, a period when the show's fanbase was one of the most active meme-producing communities online. The "20 minutes adventure" format gave casual viewers an easy entry point into show-specific humor without needing deep lore knowledge. The simple before/after structure made it accessible well beyond the *Rick and Morty* audience, and people who had never watched the show still picked up the format.

## Fun Facts
- The episode "Rest and Ricklaxation" is actually about Rick and Morty going to a spa to decompress *because* of how traumatic the cold open adventure was[1].
- Rick's line "Let's go. In and out" became shorthand for false confidence in general, sometimes used without the meme images at all.
- BroBible specifically called the meme the successor to "Distracted Boyfriend," framing it as the next big meme format of late 2017[1].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is the 20 Minutes Adventure meme?
It's an exploitable meme format based on a *Rick and Morty* scene where Rick promises a quick, easy mission that turns into a days-long disaster[1].

### Where did 20 Minutes Adventure come from?
The scene is from "Rest and Ricklaxation," Season 3, Episode 6 of *Rick and Morty*, which aired September 10, 2017[1].

### What does 20 Minutes Adventure mean?
The meme jokes about situations where someone promises something will be quick and simple, but it turns out to be anything but. Rick's overconfident "in and out" mirrors how people underestimate how long things will take[1].

### How do you use the 20 Minutes Adventure meme?
Pair Rick's quote or confident image with a situation that's supposed to be brief, then show the chaotic or exhausting aftermath using the "SIX DAYS LATER" screenshot or a custom punchline[1].

### Is 20 Minutes Adventure still popular?
The format peaked in late 2017 alongside *Rick and Morty* Season 3's popularity, but it's still widely recognized and gets reused whenever the "this was supposed to be quick" joke fits[1].

### What episode is the 20 Minutes Adventure scene from?
It's from the cold open of "Rest and Ricklaxation," Season 3, Episode 6[1].

### What happens in the original scene?
Rick convinces Morty to grab a plasma shard in the Abadango cluster, promising it will take twenty minutes. Six days later, they're both sobbing and traumatized[1].

### What meme did 20 Minutes Adventure replace?
According to BroBible, the format rose to prominence as the "Distracted Boyfriend" meme was losing steam in September 2017[1].

## References
1. [Embrace This Fantastic 'Rick And Morty' ’20 Minutes Adventure’ Meme - BroBible](<https://brobible.com/culture/article/rick-and-morty-20-minutes-adventure-meme/>)
2. [Arrow in the knee](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_in_the_knee>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/20-minutes-adventure
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