# Bertstrips
Bertstrips is an image macro series that pairs screenshots from the American children's show Sesame Street, mostly of Bert, with dark and inappropriate captions styled after Bitstrips webcomics. It started on Reddit in November 2013 and grew into a dedicated subreddit with tens of thousands of subscribers.
## Overview
Bertstrips is an image macro series that pairs screenshots from the American children's show Sesame Street, most often featuring the character Bert, with dark and inappropriate captions written in the visual style of Bitstrips webcomics[1]. The captions typically describe drug use, existential dread, crime, or otherwise bleak adult scenarios, set against cheerful puppet imagery. That mismatch between wholesome children's TV visuals and grim adult text is the whole joke.
The format taps into a much older internet tradition of portraying Bert as a sinister figure, which goes back to the 1998 site Bert Is Evil[3]. Bertstrips added a modern webcomic layout, with block-style captions positioned above the screenshot like a Bitstrips panel, giving posts a look that fit Facebook and Reddit feeds in the mid-2010s[4].
## How It Spread
A dedicated subreddit at /r/bertstrips launched the same day the original /r/funny post went up[2]. By March 2015 that subreddit counted more than 40,000 subscribers and averaged roughly 5 to 10 new posts per day[4].
The format spread beyond Reddit through a Tumblr blog called Bert-Strips[5] and a running Imgur gallery[6], where users kept pairing new Sesame Street screencaps with darker captions. The subreddit stayed active through early 2015 at minimum, powered by the deep archive of Sesame Street footage and the mismatch between Bert's blank expression and whatever bleak caption sat above him[4].
## How to Use
Users typically start with a Sesame Street screenshot, most commonly of Bert, and layer a Bitstrips-style caption box above it. The caption is often written in third person and describes an adult, dark, or absurd situation the character is supposedly living through[3]. The humor comes from picking a puppet expression that unintentionally fits the caption's tone, so the puppet ends up looking either resigned, menacing, or oblivious in exactly the right way[2].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Bertstrips?
Bertstrips is an image macro series that pairs Sesame Street screenshots, usually of Bert, with dark, adult, or absurd captions laid out in the style of Bitstrips webcomics[1].
### Where did Bertstrips come from?
Reddit user BillNyeDeGrasseTyson posted the first widely shared collection to /r/funny on November 5, 2013, as a reaction to the Bitstrips app that was flooding Facebook at the time[1].
### What does Bertstrips mean?
The name is a mashup of "Bert" (from Sesame Street) and "Bitstrips" (the Facebook comic app), and it labels the parody format the original post introduced[1].
### How do you use Bertstrips?
Take a Sesame Street screenshot and add a Bitstrips-style caption above it describing a dark, adult, or absurd scenario the character is supposedly in[3].
### Is Bertstrips still popular?
The dedicated subreddit /r/bertstrips was still active as of March 2015 with more than 40,000 subscribers and 5 to 10 posts per day, and Bertstrips is now treated as a classic mid-2010s Reddit meme[4].
## References
1. [https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1pzt9x/we_were_sick_of_seeing_bitstrips_on_facebook_so/]()
2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/bertstrips/]()
3. [http://www.bertisevil.tv/]()
4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bertstrips]()
5. [https://bert-strips.tumblr.com/]()
6. [https://imgur.com/gallery/bertstrips]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/bertstrips
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