# Picture Unrelated Picture Unrelated is an imageboard catchphrase used to flag that an attached image has nothing to do with the post's actual subject. It grew out of 4chan's rule requiring an image on every new thread, and by the late 2000s the tag was inseparable from a wave of surreal filler pictures that became a running gag of their own. ## Origin By most accounts the practice began on 4chan's /r/ (request) board, where users trade links and downloadable files and often padded threads with any handy image just to satisfy the upload rule[1]. According to Know Your Meme, one of the earliest archived instances shows up in a September 12, 2006 personal blog entry by a user named Amy, paired with the painting Rooster Zebra Contemplating Grilled-Cheese Sandwich by San Diego artist Matt Forderer[3]. Forderer's oddball 2004 canvas fit the surrealist mood the tag would soon encourage across the site. - **Platform:** 4chan - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2006 ## Overview The tag typically appears as 'pic unrelated' or the longer 'picture unrelated,' pasted into a post whose image bears no logical link to the words around it[3]. Because 4chan's /b/ (random) board and other sections require an image upload to open a thread, users needed a quick way to head off confusion when they had only text on their minds. Attaching whatever picture happened to be in the downloads folder became the path of least resistance, and the tag turned that habit into an in-joke. Over time the images filed under the label drifted toward the absurd: odd still lifes, obscure paintings, and nonsensical crops that gave the plainest posts a surreal edge. Sibling variants such as 'pic related' and 'pic semi-related' fill out the vocabulary, letting posters spell out how tightly the image actually matches the text[2]. ## How to Use Post your text as usual, attach an image with no obvious connection to what you wrote, and add 'pic unrelated' somewhere in the body[2]. If the picture is a little bit connected, some posters write 'pic semi-related' to be more precise, while 'pic related' does the opposite and confirms the image really does illustrate the text. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Picture Unrelated? Picture Unrelated is an imageboard catchphrase warning readers that an attached image has nothing to do with the post's topic[2]. ### Where did Picture Unrelated come from? The convention started on 4chan's /r/ request board in the mid-2000s to satisfy the site's requirement of attaching an image to every new thread[1]. ### What does Picture Unrelated mean? It signals that the writer knows the picture looks random and is telling readers not to hunt for a connection to the text[2]. ### How do you use Picture Unrelated? Post your text, attach an image that has nothing to do with it, and add 'pic unrelated' in the body; posters use 'pic related' or 'pic semi-related' when the image partially matches[2]. ### Is Picture Unrelated still popular? It is a classic imageboard convention still recognized on 4chan and its offshoots, though its peak as a running joke was during the late 2000s[1]. ## References 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan]() 2. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Picture+Unrelated]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/picture-unrelated]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/picture-unrelated Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library