# Milhouse Daryll Van Houten Milhouse Van Houten is Bart Simpson's bespectacled best friend on The Simpsons who became one of the internet's longest-running meme debates. His nasal voice, blue hair and unrequited crush on Lisa turned him into fan-blog fodder, but the character is best known for the 4chan paradox 'Milhouse is not a meme,' which became a defining example of a forced meme. ## Origin Milhouse was created by Simpsons creator Matt Groening in 1988 for a Butterfinger candy bar commercial called 'The Butterfinger Group,' in which he argued with Bart over whether Butterfingers counted as a food group[2]. He was then folded into the main cast of the animated series and became Bart's frequent sidekick[1]. His life as an internet meme began on 4chan around 2005, where anonymous posters started spamming the phrase 'Milhouse is not a meme' in threads about him, framing the character as an example of a forced meme[3]. The paradox, insisting he was not a meme while making him one, is what pushed the joke beyond the imageboard. - **Platform:** The Simpsons (source) / 4chan (viral debate) - **Creator:** Matt Groening (character); anonymous 4chan users (meme debate) - **Date:** 2005 ## Overview Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is Bart Simpson's nerdy, blue-haired best friend, defined by thick glasses, a potato-shaped nose, and a hopeless crush on Lisa Simpson[1]. As a meme, Milhouse works on two tracks: he is the punchline of the paradoxical 4chan slogan 'Milhouse is not a meme,' and he is the mascot of the catchphrase 'Everything's coming up Milhouse,' which people still tweet whenever small things go their way[3]. The 'not a meme' bit turned into a running gag where users on 4chan and Reddit argued endlessly over whether the character qualified as a real meme, with the debate itself being the joke[3]. Alongside that, fan blogs cataloguing his gullibility, his lasciviously raised eyebrows and his general bad luck kept him circulating in Simpsons fandom well beyond the show's peak years[1]. ## How It Spread Fan documentation of Milhouse expanded across blogging platforms in the early 2010s. On February 1, 2011, the Daily Milhouse Tumblr launched to collect media featuring the character[5], and later that year on October 8 the Milhouse's Eyebrows Tumblr was created specifically for shots highlighting his blue brows[7]. On January 22, 2012, the /r/milhouse subreddit opened as a discussion hub for Simpsons fans[10]. The secondary Milhouse meme comes from Season 10, Episode 19 of The Simpsons, which aired December 20, 1998, in which Milhouse celebrates a flood by exclaiming 'Everything's coming up Milhouse'[3]. Urban Dictionary user Sheepz submitted an entry for the phrase on January 29, 2004, defining it as a way to say things are going well, and a dedicated 'Everything's Coming Up Milhouse' Tumblr followed on February 27, 2011[6]. Mainstream outlets picked up both threads. BuzzFeed published '32 Signs You're the Milhouse' on August 13, 2013[4], and on November 28, 2014, the site ran a roundup of tweets using the 'Everything's coming up Milhouse' catchphrase, quoting posters celebrating tiny wins like a good haircut, a surprise chocolate orange or a doubled data plan[8]. Reference articles on the character have also been maintained on the Simpsons Wiki since a profile was submitted on February 10, 2006[9]. ## How to Use The catchphrase 'Everything's coming up Milhouse' is typically posted on Twitter or in chats to celebrate small, absurdly minor pieces of good luck, a free upgrade, a lucky snack find, a screaming baby getting moved on a plane, in the same deadpan way Milhouse used it about a flood[8]. The 'Milhouse is not a meme' line is used ironically, dropped into threads where the character appears as a self-defeating denial that only strengthens his meme status[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Milhouse Daryll Van Houten? Milhouse Van Houten is Bart Simpson's blue-haired best friend on The Simpsons, and online he is the subject of the 4chan slogan 'Milhouse is not a meme' and the catchphrase 'Everything's coming up Milhouse'[1][3]. ### Where did Milhouse Daryll Van Houten come from? The character was designed by Matt Groening in 1988 for a Butterfinger commercial called 'The Butterfinger Group' before joining the main Simpsons cast[2]. ### What does Milhouse Daryll Van Houten mean? As a meme, he stands for two things: the paradoxical 4chan claim that he is a forced meme, and 'Everything's coming up Milhouse,' a way of announcing that small things are going your way[3][8]. ### How do you use Milhouse Daryll Van Houten? People tweet 'Everything's coming up Milhouse' to celebrate minor wins like a good haircut or a free data upgrade, mirroring the way the character used the line in the show[8]. ### Is Milhouse Daryll Van Houten still popular? The character is a classic Simpsons meme with long-running fan communities, including a subreddit opened in January 2012 and Tumblr blogs like Daily Milhouse and Milhouse's Eyebrows[5][7][10]. ## References 1. [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Milhouse_Van_Houten]() 2. [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/The_Butterfinger_Group]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/milhouse-van-houten]() 4. [https://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/signs-youre-the-milhouse]() 5. [https://dailymilhouse.tumblr.com/]() 6. [https://everythingscomingupmilhouse.tumblr.com/]() 7. [https://milhouseseyebrows.tumblr.com/]() 8. [https://www.buzzfeed.com/robinedds/coming-up-milhouse]() 9. [https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Milhouse_Van_Houten]() 10. [https://www.reddit.com/r/milhouse/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/milhouse-daryll-van-houten Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library