# Dab > Dab is a 2017 viral meme from Nickelodeon India's "D Se Dab" cartoon featuring the hip-hop dance of tucking your head into one bent arm while extending the other, which spawned countless bass-boosted remixes. The dab is a hip-hop dance move performed by tucking your head into one bent arm while extending the other arm straight out[2]. While the gesture peaked in Western mainstream culture around 2015-2016, it gained a second life as ironic meme material in September 2017 when Nickelodeon India posted a video of cartoon characters dabbing to a catchy song, creating the "D Se Dab" viral sensation that spawned a wave of bass-boosted remixes[4]. ## Origin On September 4, 2017, the official Facebook page for Nickelodeon India uploaded a video called "Teacher's Day: Guru Cool"[4]. The clip showed a boy from the animated show Motu Patlu taking attendance alongside characters from three Nickelodeon India properties: Motu Patlu, Gattu Battu, and Ninja Hattori[4]. Motu Patlu is an Indian animated sitcom that premiered on Nickelodeon on October 16, 2012, adapted from the classic Lotpot comic strip[3]. The show follows two friends, Motu and Patlu, stumbling through misadventures in the fictional town of Furfuri Nagar[3]. Ninja Hattori-kun is based on a Japanese manga by Fujiko Fujio A that ran from 1964 to 1988, with an Indian-produced animated remake airing from 2013 to 2015[2]. In the video, the boy character defines the dab for his audience, then all the cartoon characters proceed to dab in unison[4]. The video hit 2 million views, 53,000 likes, and 17,000 shares on Facebook within two months of posting[4]. - **Platform:** Facebook (Nickelodeon India page) - **Creator:** Nickelodeon India (D Se Dab video) - **Date:** 2017 (Nick India Dab) ## Overview The dab is a gesture where you drop your face into the crook of one bent elbow while stretching the other arm out to the side, as though sneezing into your arm with dramatic flair[1]. By 2017, the move had already blown through its mainstream cycle and landed firmly in "your dad does this at barbecues" territory. That timing is exactly what made the Nick India Dab video so appealing to meme creators: a children's network earnestly celebrating an already-stale trend was perfect shitposting material[4]. The original video, titled "Teacher's Day: Guru Cool," featured characters from popular Indian animated shows performing the dab while a boy narrator actually stops to define what dabbing is[4]. The combination of enthusiastic sincerity, catchy audio, and slightly stilted animation made it irresistible to remix artists. ## How It Spread The remix machine kicked into gear three days after the original upload. On September 7, 2017, YouTuber Pileabones posted "INDIAN SONG ABOUT DABBING," adding ear-rape audio distortion whenever the boy performs the dab[4]. That video reached 19,000 views and over 500 likes within its first month. Just one day later on September 8, the channel Cartoon Shitposts uploaded "Nick India Dab Video, but every time the boy says 'dab' it gets bass boosted and sharpened." This became the most popular remix, racking up 121,000 views and 4,600 likes by October 2017[4]. The bass-boosted, progressively distorted format was a signature move of 2017 YouTube shitposting, and the Nick India Dab video was tailor-made for it. The meme followed the typical lifecycle of late-2010s ironic remix culture: an earnest piece of children's media gets picked up by shitposting communities, run through layers of audio and visual distortion, and shared as commentary on both the original content and the cultural moment it accidentally captures. Nickelodeon India's shows, including Motu Patlu with its eight-language broadcast reach across India[3], had enormous local audiences but became unexpected raw material for international meme communities. ## How to Use The Nick India Dab meme typically shows up in two formats: 1. **Remix video:** Take the original Nick India clip and apply progressive distortion effects. Bass boosting, ear rape, image sharpening, and deep frying are common choices, usually triggered each time someone dabs or says "dab" in the video. 2. **Ironic dab reference:** Share the video or dabbing clips as commentary on outdated trends being celebrated with full sincerity by brands or institutions. ## Cultural Impact Dabbing became one of the most everywhere pop culture moments of the mid-2010s. It appeared in political campaigns, news broadcasts, children's programming, and virtually every school photo from 2015-2017. Its rapid rise and subsequent 'death' became a textbook example of how quickly web culture moves. ## Fun Facts - The original video was made to celebrate Teacher's Day in India, turning an educational tribute into accidental meme content[4] - Motu Patlu, the primary show featured in the video, is adapted from a comic strip called Lotpot and broadcasts in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Odia, and Bengali[3] - Ninja Hattori-kun, another show in the video, is based on a manga that started in 1964, making the source material over 50 years old when it appeared in the dab video[2] - The most popular remix was uploaded just one day after the first remix but overtook it in views by a factor of six[4] - Motu, one of the cartoon characters who dabs in the video, gains temporary super strength from eating samosas in the show's storyline[3] ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Dab meme? The dab is a dance move where you tuck your head into one bent arm while extending the other arm outward[1]. The "Nick India Dab" meme specifically refers to a September 2017 Nickelodeon India video where animated characters perform and explain the move[4]. ### Where did the Dab meme come from? The viral meme version originated from a video titled "Teacher's Day: Guru Cool" posted on Nickelodeon India's Facebook page on September 4, 2017[4]. ### What does Dab mean? In internet culture, a dab is a hip-hop dance gesture[1]. In the context of the Nick India meme, dabbing became an object of ironic humor because the video celebrated the move after it had already fallen out of style[4]. ### How do you use the Dab meme? The most common format is creating remix videos of the Nick India clip, adding bass boosting or audio distortion effects each time someone dabs or says "dab"[4]. ### Is Dab still popular? The Nick India Dab peaked in late 2017. As of that period, the original video had 2 million Facebook views and the top remix had over 121,000 YouTube views[4]. The meme is no longer generating new content. ### What shows appear in the Nick India Dab video? The video features characters from Motu Patlu, Gattu Battu, and Ninja Hattori[4]. Motu Patlu premiered on Nickelodeon in 2012[3], and the Indian Ninja Hattori-kun remake aired from 2013 to 2015[2]. ### What was the first Nick India Dab remix? YouTuber Pileabones uploaded the first remix on September 7, 2017, titled "INDIAN SONG ABOUT DABBING," adding ear-rape audio effects to the dab moments[4]. ### Which Nick India Dab remix was most popular? The bass-boosted version by Cartoon Shitposts, uploaded September 8, 2017, became the top remix with 121,000+ views and 4,600+ likes by October 2017[4]. ## References 1. [Dab]() 2. [Dab - Urban Dictionary]() 3. [Dab - Know Your Meme]() 4. [Motu Patlu]() 5. [Ninja Hattori-kun]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/dab Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library