# Bazinga Bazinga is a catchphrase from CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, said by physicist Sheldon Cooper after pulling a prank on his friends. First aired in May 2009, it later fueled an ironic 4chan and Tumblr parody scene mocking the show's brand of geek humor. ## Overview Bazinga is a nonsense interjection used like "zing" or "gotcha," which Urban Dictionary contributors define as a catchy phrase to accompany a clever prank[4]. On CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper (played by Jim Parsons) yells it after tricking a friend or landing a joke[1]. The word sounds vaguely scientific because it stitches together the chemical symbols for Barium (Ba), a fictional element Zuunium (Z) from the in-show Timber Wolf comics, Iodine (I), Nitrogen (N), and Gallium (Ga)[3]. Two very different fandoms grew around the line. Fans of the show wore it on t-shirts and mugs sold at pop-culture retailer Hot Topic[5]. An anti-fandom on 4chan and Tumblr turned bazinga into shorthand for what they saw as the show's cheap, over-explained geek humor, spawning a wave of deliberately unfunny parody comics[5]. ## How It Spread By April 2012, at least fifteen user-submitted definitions for Bazinga sat on Urban Dictionary, with the top entry passing 7,700 upvotes by December of that year[4]. A fan Facebook page for the catchphrase cleared 339,000 likes by late 2012, and the word picked up entries on Wiktionary and Word Reference forums[5]. The parody counter-scene started on 4chan's /tv/ board on December 25, 2012, when a thread asking why users disliked The Big Bang Theory drew replies with fake variants like "bazoopie," "bazonkers," and "bazopple"[3]. A follow-up thread the next day filled with low-resolution Comic Sans comics running flat science jokes, each ending on a triumphant "BAZINGA!"[5]. On December 27, Tumblr user zebeckblogs posted a compilation of the parody reactions that pulled more than 2,000 notes within hours, while a repost of the /tv/ comics on the 4chan subreddit passed 9,574 upvotes the same day[5]. ## How to Use The parody template typically pairs a crude MS Paint drawing with a bad, over-explained science pun set in Comic Sans, capped by a giant "BAZINGA!" that is unfunny on purpose[5]. Fans of the show use the word straight, dropping it after any prank in the spirit of Sheldon's delivery[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Bazinga? Bazinga is a catchphrase from The Big Bang Theory that character Sheldon Cooper uses after pulling a practical joke, similar to "zing" or "gotcha"[1]. ### Where did Bazinga come from? The word debuted in the Season 2 finale "The Monopolar Expedition," which aired on CBS on May 11, 2009[1]. ### What does Bazinga mean? It is a nonsense stinger to punctuate a prank, and Urban Dictionary defines it as a catchy phrase to accompany a clever joke[4]. ### How do you use Bazinga? Fans of the show yell it after any successful prank[2], while the parody version pairs it with a Comic Sans MS Paint comic built around a bad science joke[5]. ### Is Bazinga still popular? The parody comics saw heavy sharing on Reddit and Tumblr in late 2012, with one compilation crossing 9,500 upvotes on the 4chan subreddit in a day[5]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn2S7fq_p1E]() 2. [https://bigbangtheory.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monopolar_Expedition]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bazinga]() 4. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bazinga]() 5. [https://bigbangtheory.fandom.com/wiki/Bazinga]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/bazinga Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library