# Rapture Bombing Rapture Bombing is a flash mob prank where people arrange empty clothes, shoes, and accessories on the ground in public to fake a scene of someone vanishing mid-activity. The joke took off in May 2011 as radio preacher Harold Camping's doomsday prediction neared, and by May 21 Gizmodo had turned it into a reader photo contest that skater Tony Hawk also joined. ## Origin American radio evangelist Harold Camping declared May 21, 2011 the date of the Rapture, the Christian pre-Tribulation event where believers vanish bodily and non-believers are left behind[4]. His doomsday broadcasts drew online mockery for weeks, including Rapture-related hashtags and image macros aimed at the prediction. The Tumblr blog FuckYeahDementia published a how-to on May 19, 2011, telling readers to lay out full sets of clothes on the ground to simulate the moment, which gave Rapture Bombing its viral template[4]. A direct precedent existed: a video titled 'Fake Rapture Prank' went up on MilksandCookies on August 15, 2007, roughly four years before Camping's prediction turned the idea into a mass stunt. - **Platform:** Tumblr / Gizmodo (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2011 ## Overview A rapture bomb layout usually places a pair of empty shoes with socks still tucked inside, pants pooled on top, a shirt collapsed above the pants, and small extras like a watch, phone, or sunglasses where a wrist or face would have been[1]. Bonus points go to setups that catch the vanished person doing something normal: mowing the lawn, riding a bike mid-trip, slumped against a park bench, or seated at a lunch table. Photos work best outdoors in daylight where passersby can double-take, which is why many submissions were staged on sidewalks, parking lots, lawns, and skate parks[3]. Posters captioned their shots with the hashtag #rapturebomb or sent them straight to Gizmodo's Facebook page for the May 21 photo contest, which offered prizes like iPhone cases for the best shots[1]. Gag props such as a leashed dog standing next to its owner's empty clothes became a running variation[2]. ## How to Use A typical setup lays out a full outfit, shoes on the ground, then pants flattened on top, shirt above the pants, with a watch, glasses, or phone placed where the body would have been[1]. Common staging is to pose the empty clothes mid-activity, such as biking, mowing, or walking a dog, and photograph the scene in daylight. Posters often tagged shots with #rapturebomb or sent them to Gizmodo's Facebook page during the May 2011 contest window[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Rapture Bombing? Rapture Bombing is a flash mob prank where participants arrange empty clothes, shoes, and accessories in public to fake a scene of someone vanishing, as if taken up in the Christian Rapture[1]. ### Where did Rapture Bombing come from? It emerged in May 2011 around radio evangelist Harold Camping's May 21 doomsday prediction, with the Tumblr blog FuckYeahDementia posting the first widely shared how-to on May 19, 2011[4]. ### What does Rapture Bombing mean? It is a visual joke that mocks the pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine by staging the moment believers supposedly vanish and leave only their clothes behind, often shared with the hashtag #rapturebomb[1]. ### How do you use Rapture Bombing? Lay out a full set of pants, shirt, and shoes with accessories like a watch or sunglasses placed as if a person just evaporated, photograph the scene outdoors, and post it with the tag #rapturebomb[1]. ### Is Rapture Bombing still popular? No. Activity peaked around Camping's failed May 21, 2011 prediction, when a Gizmodo gallery of submissions pulled five million views in 72 hours, and the format now resurfaces only around similar end-times predictions[2]. ## References 1. [https://gizmodo.com/5803766/rapture-prank]() 2. [https://gizmodo.com/the-best-rapture-bomb-pictures-5804259]() 3. [https://gizmodo.com/legendary-skater-tony-hawk-and-many-others-joins-rapt-5804549]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rapture-bombing]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/rapture-bombing Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library