Decibel Level Charts

2016exploitable imageclassic

Decibel Level Charts, also called Noise Level Charts, is an exploitable image format that edits a real dBA infographic and adds a hyperbolic punchline above the loudest legitimate sound. The template took off on r/pcmasterrace in June 2016 and spread through Facebook and other subreddits during 2017.

exploitable templatesphotoshop memesscience chart memessubreddit origin memeshyperbole memes

Overview

Decibel Level Charts, also known as Noise Level Charts, is an exploitable image format that takes a real noise-level infographic and edits the top end to swap the loudest reference sound, usually a jet taking off, for a hyperbolic joke about something the creator finds unbearably loud 3. The base charts list ordinary sounds like whispers, conversations, lawn mowers and rock concerts against their dBA values, and the humor comes from the punchline slotted above the loudest legitimate entry.

The format lives on r/pcmasterrace, r/dankmemes and r/me_irl, where the added entry is usually a video-game gripe, a domestic mishap, or a targeted insult played as if it registered higher than industrial machinery 12. Because the template is a plain infographic, edits are easy to produce and easy to read at a glance, which is why the same layout is still recirculated whenever posters want to complain about a specific sound.

How It Spread

On February 21st, 2017, the Irreverent Italian Memes Facebook page posted a "Decibel (dB) Range Chart" that placed "Italian conversation" above gunshots and metal concerts as the loudest noise on the scale 5. Within six months the post pulled in more than 11,000 reactions, 5,000 shares and 1,200 comments, moving the template out of gaming subreddits and into broader Facebook meme circles 3.

The photoshopped variant took off on r/me_irl on May 25th, 2017, when Redditor whatagaein7 posted a chart that ranked "a shampoo bottle falling off the ledge in the shower" above a jet takeoff 2. That post cleared 2,000 points at a 96 percent upvote ratio within three months. On August 30th, Redditor Davethemann remixed a decibel chart from the infographic site Chart Valley and capped the scale with a racial punchline, pulling more than 11,900 points and 220 comments on r/dankmemes in 14 hours 4. The same day, Redditor BattleCat13 submitted a version featuring Chanty Binx labeled "a feminist" at the top of the scale 6.

How to Use This Meme

A Decibel Level Chart typically starts from a real dBA infographic, keeps the ordinary sounds intact (whisper, conversation, traffic, jet engine), and adds one extra entry at the top representing whatever the creator finds unreasonably loud 1. The joke often lands hardest when the added item is quiet in reality, like a game menu, a dropped shampoo bottle, or a specific person talking, so the visual gap between the jet takeoff line and the punchline does the comedic work 2.

Frequently Asked Questions

Decibel Level Charts

2016exploitable imageclassic

Decibel Level Charts, also called Noise Level Charts, is an exploitable image format that edits a real dBA infographic and adds a hyperbolic punchline above the loudest legitimate sound. The template took off on r/pcmasterrace in June 2016 and spread through Facebook and other subreddits during 2017.

exploitable templates photoshop memes science chart memes subreddit origin memes hyperbole memes

Overview

Decibel Level Charts, also known as Noise Level Charts, is an exploitable image format that takes a real noise-level infographic and edits the top end to swap the loudest reference sound, usually a jet taking off, for a hyperbolic joke about something the creator finds unbearably loud 3. The base charts list ordinary sounds like whispers, conversations, lawn mowers and rock concerts against their dBA values, and the humor comes from the punchline slotted above the loudest legitimate entry.

The format lives on r/pcmasterrace, r/dankmemes and r/me_irl, where the added entry is usually a video-game gripe, a domestic mishap, or a targeted insult played as if it registered higher than industrial machinery 12. Because the template is a plain infographic, edits are easy to produce and easy to read at a glance, which is why the same layout is still recirculated whenever posters want to complain about a specific sound.

How It Spread

On February 21st, 2017, the Irreverent Italian Memes Facebook page posted a "Decibel (dB) Range Chart" that placed "Italian conversation" above gunshots and metal concerts as the loudest noise on the scale 5. Within six months the post pulled in more than 11,000 reactions, 5,000 shares and 1,200 comments, moving the template out of gaming subreddits and into broader Facebook meme circles 3.

The photoshopped variant took off on r/me_irl on May 25th, 2017, when Redditor whatagaein7 posted a chart that ranked "a shampoo bottle falling off the ledge in the shower" above a jet takeoff 2. That post cleared 2,000 points at a 96 percent upvote ratio within three months. On August 30th, Redditor Davethemann remixed a decibel chart from the infographic site Chart Valley and capped the scale with a racial punchline, pulling more than 11,900 points and 220 comments on r/dankmemes in 14 hours 4. The same day, Redditor BattleCat13 submitted a version featuring Chanty Binx labeled "a feminist" at the top of the scale 6.

How to Use This Meme

A Decibel Level Chart typically starts from a real dBA infographic, keeps the ordinary sounds intact (whisper, conversation, traffic, jet engine), and adds one extra entry at the top representing whatever the creator finds unreasonably loud 1. The joke often lands hardest when the added item is quiet in reality, like a game menu, a dropped shampoo bottle, or a specific person talking, so the visual gap between the jet takeoff line and the punchline does the comedic work 2.

Frequently Asked Questions