21St Century Humor

2019Video montage / editing stylesemi-active

Also known as: iFunny Poops · 21st Century Memes

21st Century Humor is a 2020 video montage format featuring chaotic mashups of Vines, earrape audio, and absurdist editing, popularized by twomad's viral You Laugh You Lose challenge.

21st Century Humor is a genre of rapid-fire, chaotic video montages that mash together old Vines, meme sound effects, earrape audio, and absurdist editing into sensory overload compilations1. The format gained massive popularity in April 2020 after Canadian YouTuber twomad ran a $1,000 You Laugh You Lose challenge on his livestreams, which incentivized viewers to create and submit increasingly unhinged montage videos3. It stands as one of the defining meme video styles of the early 2020s, building on the legacy of YouTube Poop and r/arabfunny.

montage parody memesyoutube poop memesabsurdist humor memes2020 memeschallenge memes

Overview

21st Century Humor videos are montage parodies built from a grab bag of internet detritus: old Vine clips, deep-fried visuals, sound effects cranked to distortion, fart noises, meme songs, and rapid-fire cuts that barely let the viewer process one clip before the next one hits2. The editing style borrows heavily from r/arabfunny videos, with a similar commitment to total sensory chaos3.

A typical 21st Century Humor video might include FlightReacts screaming, a siren blaring, sudden thuds paired with red circles, clickbait-style arrows, the Comically Large Spoon, "Ayo the Pizza Here," Among Us references, and clips from the Nostalgia Critic1. The videos rarely last more than a minute or two, and the humor comes entirely from the speed, randomness, and overwhelming density of references crammed into a short runtime2.

The format descended directly from YouTube Poop videos, which had been splicing together clips and sound effects in chaotic ways for years3. In 2019, a similar editing style took hold on iFunny, where users created what were sometimes called "iFunny poops." These short, aggressively edited compilations spread outside the app through reposts on YouTube and Instagram3.

The exact origin of the term "21st century humor" is unclear, but it likely appeared in late April to early May 20203. The format was already circulating, but it hadn't yet hit mainstream meme culture.

Origin & Background

Platform
iFunny (early format), YouTube / Twitch (viral spread)
Key People
Unknown, fire, twomad
Date
2019 (format), 2020 (viral surge)

The format descended directly from YouTube Poop videos, which had been splicing together clips and sound effects in chaotic ways for years. In 2019, a similar editing style took hold on iFunny, where users created what were sometimes called "iFunny poops." These short, aggressively edited compilations spread outside the app through reposts on YouTube and Instagram.

The exact origin of the term "21st century humor" is unclear, but it likely appeared in late April to early May 2020. The format was already circulating, but it hadn't yet hit mainstream meme culture.

How It Spread

The explosion of 21st Century Humor traces directly to twomad's Twitch and YouTube livestreams in late April 2020. On April 19th, during a twomad stream, YouTuber fire uploaded a video titled "baba boo eee" that included clips from that day's stream. twomad laughed and praised it, calling it funny.

That same day, twomad proposed a $1,000 You Laugh You Lose challenge: viewers could win the cash prize if their submitted video made him laugh. On April 22nd, he ran the challenge stream, and viewers flooded the submissions with videos mimicking fire's chaotic editing style. During the stream, twomad actively shaped the genre by directing viewers on what he found funny and encouraging specific source material. He pointed to sorting algorithm visualizations, hypnosis videos, and the "I Would Like To Purchase Some Of Your Finest Beer" scene from the movie Shazam as elements he wanted to see.

By May 3rd, the format had enough recognizable conventions that YouTuber cowdill uploaded a "Guide to 21st century humor," breaking down the common elements used in these videos. The guide helped codify what had been an improvised editing style into a repeatable template, and the genre spread rapidly across YouTube and TikTok through the rest of 2020.

Media

How to Use This Meme

Making a 21st Century Humor video follows a loose formula:

1

Collect source material: old Vines, meme clips, stock footage, game footage, reaction clips (FlightReacts, Markiplier, and the Nostalgia Critic are common choices)

2

Layer in sound effects at high volume: sirens, thuds, fart noises, the Plants vs. Zombies victory theme, Taco Bell sounds, and FNAF ambient audio all appear frequently

3

Add visual chaos: red circles, clickbait arrows, deep-fried filters, Among Us characters, and emojis scattered throughout

4

Edit everything together with extremely fast cuts, often less than a second each

5

Crank the audio into earrape territory for at least a few moments

Cultural Impact

21st Century Humor locked in a specific editing aesthetic for an entire generation of meme video creators. The style influenced how short-form content was edited on TikTok and YouTube Shorts well beyond the original 2020 surge, with the rapid cuts and layered audio becoming standard tools in meme video production.

twomad's YLYL streams created a rare feedback loop where a content creator actively shaped a meme genre in real time, telling his audience exactly what elements to include and rewarding the best submissions with cash. This turned what might have been a passing trend into a codified format with recognized conventions.

Fun Facts

twomad's original YLYL prize was $1,000, though other sources report $10,000 for some rounds of the challenge

The format's roots on iFunny meant it was already spreading before most YouTube audiences encountered it, making it one of the few meme formats to migrate FROM iFunny rather than TO it

Urban Dictionary definitions for the format read like 21st Century Humor videos themselves, listing ingredients in a breathless stream: "grubhub perks give you deals on the food you love... *plants vs zombies victory theme* *fart noise* *taco bell noise*"

The genre essentially turned YouTube Poop's decade-old editing philosophy into a competitive sport via twomad's cash prizes

Derivatives & Variations

"Guide to 21st century humor" videos

— cowdill's May 2020 guide spawned a subgenre of tutorial/breakdown videos explaining the format's conventions[3]

YLYL compilation edits

— clips from twomad's challenge streams were recut and redistributed across YouTube[3]

r/arabfunny crossovers

— the two communities shared significant overlap in editing style, with creators often posting in both spaces[3]

Frequently Asked Questions

21St Century Humor

2019Video montage / editing stylesemi-active

Also known as: iFunny Poops · 21st Century Memes

21st Century Humor is a 2020 video montage format featuring chaotic mashups of Vines, earrape audio, and absurdist editing, popularized by twomad's viral You Laugh You Lose challenge.

21st Century Humor is a genre of rapid-fire, chaotic video montages that mash together old Vines, meme sound effects, earrape audio, and absurdist editing into sensory overload compilations. The format gained massive popularity in April 2020 after Canadian YouTuber twomad ran a $1,000 You Laugh You Lose challenge on his livestreams, which incentivized viewers to create and submit increasingly unhinged montage videos. It stands as one of the defining meme video styles of the early 2020s, building on the legacy of YouTube Poop and r/arabfunny.

montage parody memes youtube poop memes absurdist humor memes 2020 memes challenge memes

Overview

21st Century Humor videos are montage parodies built from a grab bag of internet detritus: old Vine clips, deep-fried visuals, sound effects cranked to distortion, fart noises, meme songs, and rapid-fire cuts that barely let the viewer process one clip before the next one hits. The editing style borrows heavily from r/arabfunny videos, with a similar commitment to total sensory chaos.

A typical 21st Century Humor video might include FlightReacts screaming, a siren blaring, sudden thuds paired with red circles, clickbait-style arrows, the Comically Large Spoon, "Ayo the Pizza Here," Among Us references, and clips from the Nostalgia Critic. The videos rarely last more than a minute or two, and the humor comes entirely from the speed, randomness, and overwhelming density of references crammed into a short runtime.

The format descended directly from YouTube Poop videos, which had been splicing together clips and sound effects in chaotic ways for years. In 2019, a similar editing style took hold on iFunny, where users created what were sometimes called "iFunny poops." These short, aggressively edited compilations spread outside the app through reposts on YouTube and Instagram.

The exact origin of the term "21st century humor" is unclear, but it likely appeared in late April to early May 2020. The format was already circulating, but it hadn't yet hit mainstream meme culture.

Origin & Background

Platform
iFunny (early format), YouTube / Twitch (viral spread)
Key People
Unknown, fire, twomad
Date
2019 (format), 2020 (viral surge)

The format descended directly from YouTube Poop videos, which had been splicing together clips and sound effects in chaotic ways for years. In 2019, a similar editing style took hold on iFunny, where users created what were sometimes called "iFunny poops." These short, aggressively edited compilations spread outside the app through reposts on YouTube and Instagram.

The exact origin of the term "21st century humor" is unclear, but it likely appeared in late April to early May 2020. The format was already circulating, but it hadn't yet hit mainstream meme culture.

How It Spread

The explosion of 21st Century Humor traces directly to twomad's Twitch and YouTube livestreams in late April 2020. On April 19th, during a twomad stream, YouTuber fire uploaded a video titled "baba boo eee" that included clips from that day's stream. twomad laughed and praised it, calling it funny.

That same day, twomad proposed a $1,000 You Laugh You Lose challenge: viewers could win the cash prize if their submitted video made him laugh. On April 22nd, he ran the challenge stream, and viewers flooded the submissions with videos mimicking fire's chaotic editing style. During the stream, twomad actively shaped the genre by directing viewers on what he found funny and encouraging specific source material. He pointed to sorting algorithm visualizations, hypnosis videos, and the "I Would Like To Purchase Some Of Your Finest Beer" scene from the movie Shazam as elements he wanted to see.

By May 3rd, the format had enough recognizable conventions that YouTuber cowdill uploaded a "Guide to 21st century humor," breaking down the common elements used in these videos. The guide helped codify what had been an improvised editing style into a repeatable template, and the genre spread rapidly across YouTube and TikTok through the rest of 2020.

Media

How to Use This Meme

Making a 21st Century Humor video follows a loose formula:

1

Collect source material: old Vines, meme clips, stock footage, game footage, reaction clips (FlightReacts, Markiplier, and the Nostalgia Critic are common choices)

2

Layer in sound effects at high volume: sirens, thuds, fart noises, the Plants vs. Zombies victory theme, Taco Bell sounds, and FNAF ambient audio all appear frequently

3

Add visual chaos: red circles, clickbait arrows, deep-fried filters, Among Us characters, and emojis scattered throughout

4

Edit everything together with extremely fast cuts, often less than a second each

5

Crank the audio into earrape territory for at least a few moments

Cultural Impact

21st Century Humor locked in a specific editing aesthetic for an entire generation of meme video creators. The style influenced how short-form content was edited on TikTok and YouTube Shorts well beyond the original 2020 surge, with the rapid cuts and layered audio becoming standard tools in meme video production.

twomad's YLYL streams created a rare feedback loop where a content creator actively shaped a meme genre in real time, telling his audience exactly what elements to include and rewarding the best submissions with cash. This turned what might have been a passing trend into a codified format with recognized conventions.

Fun Facts

twomad's original YLYL prize was $1,000, though other sources report $10,000 for some rounds of the challenge

The format's roots on iFunny meant it was already spreading before most YouTube audiences encountered it, making it one of the few meme formats to migrate FROM iFunny rather than TO it

Urban Dictionary definitions for the format read like 21st Century Humor videos themselves, listing ingredients in a breathless stream: "grubhub perks give you deals on the food you love... *plants vs zombies victory theme* *fart noise* *taco bell noise*"

The genre essentially turned YouTube Poop's decade-old editing philosophy into a competitive sport via twomad's cash prizes

Derivatives & Variations

"Guide to 21st century humor" videos

— cowdill's May 2020 guide spawned a subgenre of tutorial/breakdown videos explaining the format's conventions[3]

YLYL compilation edits

— clips from twomad's challenge streams were recut and redistributed across YouTube[3]

r/arabfunny crossovers

— the two communities shared significant overlap in editing style, with creators often posting in both spaces[3]

Frequently Asked Questions