# Meanwhile in... In February 2010, an anonymous 4chan /b/ user flipped a photo of a Holden Commodore sedan and captioned it "Meanwhile in Australia," turning the hemisphere-upside-down gag into a reusable image macro[2]. Urban Dictionary logged other versions covering Russia, Africa and Vegas before the year was out[3]. ## Origin A flipped photo of a Holden Commodore, a popular Australian-made sedan, appeared on 4chan's /b/ board in February 2010 with the caption "Meanwhile in Australia"[2]. That hemisphere gag, which jokes that the equator inverts everything south of it, had been a standing Australian punchline online for years before someone set it to an image macro. Writers had used "meanwhile" as a segue between concurrent scenes long before 4chan picked it up. Silent film title cards cemented "Meanwhile, back at the ranch," which Westerns reused so often that it turned into a recognized cliche of the genre[1]. - **Platform:** 4chan /b/ (origin), Tumblr and aggregator blogs (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview A typical post pairs a short "Meanwhile in [place]" line with a photo that matches a stereotype attached to that country, region, job or fandom. Common examples picture Russia with bears, rifles and heavy drinking, Africa with wildlife or empty plates, and Vegas with chaos and bad decisions[3]. The caption borrows a literary device for cutting between two concurrent scenes, best known from the silent film title card "Meanwhile, back at the ranch" that early Westerns made recognizable[1]. The photo almost always lands in medias res: a vehicle mid-crash, an animal where it shouldn't be, a landmark doing something absurd. Posters use the caption as the punchline, not the setup, so the image carries the humor while the location tag anchors the joke to a cliche the audience already knows. ## How to Use Creators typically pick a country, a US state, a workplace or a fandom, then look for a photo that makes a widely held stereotype of that group obvious at a glance. The caption "Meanwhile in [place]" goes above or below the image, and the text stays short so the photo carries the punchline[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Meanwhile in...? An image macro that pairs "Meanwhile in [place]" with a photo matching a stereotype of that country, region, job or subculture[3]. ### Where did Meanwhile in... come from? It started on 4chan's /b/ board in February 2010 with a flipped Holden Commodore photo captioned "Meanwhile in Australia"[2]. ### What does Meanwhile in... mean? The line works as a narrative segue, best known from the silent film caption "Meanwhile, back at the ranch," and lets one photo deliver a stereotype punchline[1]. ### How do you use Meanwhile in...? Pick a country or subculture, find a photo that captures its most familiar cliche, and add the "Meanwhile in [place]" caption; Urban Dictionary logs examples from Russia, Africa and Vegas[3]. ### Is Meanwhile in... still popular? It is a classic image macro from the early 2010s, with the catchphrase familiar enough to keep appearing in Urban Dictionary definitions for stereotype humor[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/190.html]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/meanwhile-in]() 3. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Meanwhile%20In]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/meanwhile-in Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library