# 21St Century Humor > 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[1]. 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[3]. It stands as one of the defining meme video styles of the early 2020s, building on the legacy of YouTube Poop and r/arabfunny. ## Origin The format descended directly from YouTube Poop videos, which had been splicing together clips and sound effects in chaotic ways for years[3]. 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[3]. The exact origin of the term "21st century humor" is unclear, but it likely appeared in late April to early May 2020[3]. The format was already circulating, but it hadn't yet hit mainstream meme culture. - **Platform:** iFunny (early format), YouTube / Twitch (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (community-created format), fire (early viral video), twomad (popularizer via YLYL streams) - **Date:** 2019 (format), 2020 (viral surge) ## 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[2]. The editing style borrows heavily from r/arabfunny videos, with a similar commitment to total sensory chaos[3]. 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[1]. 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[2]. ## 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[3]. twomad laughed and praised it, calling it funny[1]. 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[3]. On April 22nd, he ran the challenge stream, and viewers flooded the submissions with videos mimicking fire's chaotic editing style[3]. 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[3]. 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[3]. 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. ## How to Use 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)[1] 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[2] 3. Add visual chaos: red circles, clickbait arrows, deep-fried filters, Among Us characters, and emojis scattered throughout[1] 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[3]. 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[1] - 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[3] - 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*"[2] - The genre essentially turned YouTube Poop's decade-old editing philosophy into a competitive sport via twomad's cash prizes[3] ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is 21st Century Humor? 21st Century Humor is a style of rapid-fire meme montage video that combines old Vines, earrape audio, sound effects, deep-fried visuals, and chaotic editing into short, overwhelming compilations[1]. ### Where did 21st Century Humor come from? The format evolved from YouTube Poop editing traditions and gained its initial following on iFunny in 2019, before exploding in popularity on YouTube and Twitch in April 2020 through twomad's livestreams[3]. ### What does 21st Century Humor mean? The name is a self-aware label for how absurd and random internet humor had gotten by the 2020s. It's both a genre name and a tongue-in-cheek commentary on modern meme culture[2]. ### How do you use 21st Century Humor? Create a short video montage using rapid cuts between meme clips, Vine audio, sound effects (sirens, thuds, fart noises), and visual elements like red circles and Among Us characters, all edited at maximum speed and volume[1]. ### Is 21st Century Humor still popular? The peak was in 2020 during twomad's YLYL challenge era. The specific format's popularity declined after that initial wave, though its editing style heavily influenced later short-form meme content on TikTok and YouTube Shorts[3]. ### Who popularized 21st Century Humor? Canadian content creator twomad popularized the format through his $1,000 You Laugh You Lose challenge streams in April 2020, where YouTuber fire submitted one of the breakthrough videos[3]. ### What's the difference between 21st Century Humor and YouTube Poop? Both use chaotic editing and sound effect layering, but 21st Century Humor specifically pulls from 2010s-2020s meme culture (Among Us, Vines, TikTok audio) and tends to be shorter and faster-paced than traditional YouTube Poops[3]. ### What are common elements in 21st Century Humor videos? FlightReacts screaming, the Comically Large Spoon, "Ayo the Pizza Here," Among Us references, the Nostalgia Critic, FNAF ambient sounds, red circles, and deep-fried filters are all staples[1]. ## References 1. [21st Century Humor - Teh Meme Wiki]() 2. [21st Century Humor - Know Your Meme]() 3. [List of 21st century films considered the worst]() 4. [21st Century Humor - Urban Dictionary]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/21st-century-humor Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library