# Shut Down Everything "Shut Down Everything" is a 2008 catchphrase from the Flash game Pandemic 2, based on the fictional president of Madagascar closing his country's only port the moment any disease appears on the world map. Fans reuse the line and its cartoon whenever a real outbreak or scare dominates headlines. ## Overview "Shut Down Everything" is a catchphrase from the 2008 Flash game Pandemic 2, where players spread a disease across the globe while the island nation of Madagascar keeps ruining their plans by sealing its only port the moment any threat appears[1]. The line parodies the fictional president of Madagascar reacting to any distant infection by ordering the shipyards closed[1]. The main visual tied to the meme is a short cartoon of the president panicking over a stylized Madagascar map, which spread on YouTube shortly after the game launched and set the template for how the phrase gets used today[2]. ## How It Spread Text references surfaced on 4chan's /v/ board and Encyclopedia Dramatica within days of the game's release in July 2008, and on July 19, 2008, GameFAQs user MangoPirate posted the phrase in a Madagascar-focused thread that counts as an early documented use of the exact wording[3]. Three days later, Urban Dictionary contributor ryanxwonbin published a definition breaking down why Madagascar had become a running gag among Pandemic 2 players, and the entry pulled over 200 upvotes over the following years[4]. The meme jumped from text to animation on July 25, 2008 when YouTuber Powerpoint12321 uploaded a short cartoon of the president screaming the line while Madagascar sealed its port[2]. The clip crossed 53,000 views over the following decade and became the go-to cartoon attached to the catchphrase in later reference collections[3]. ## How to Use Usage typically involves posting the cartoon or the phrase "shut down everything" in reply to a news story about a virus outbreak, disaster, or scandal spreading online[2]. A common convention is to frame the reply in the voice of the Madagascar president panicking about an infection reaching his coast, treating any distant threat as reason enough to seal the ports[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Shut Down Everything? Shut Down Everything is a catchphrase from the 2008 Flash game Pandemic 2, tied to the fictional president of Madagascar sealing off his country's only port the moment any disease appears on the map[1]. ### Where did Shut Down Everything come from? It came out of the Pandemic 2 player community in July 2008, with the earliest animated version uploaded to YouTube by user Powerpoint12321 on July 25, 2008[2]. ### What does Shut Down Everything mean? It mocks extreme overreaction to a distant threat, based on how Madagascar in Pandemic 2 closes its single shipyard the second any disease appears anywhere in the world[1]. ### How do you use Shut Down Everything? Post the cartoon or the phrase in reply to news about a virus, outbreak, or crisis, referencing the animated Madagascar president from Powerpoint12321's 2008 YouTube upload[2]. ### Is Shut Down Everything still popular? It is a classic Flash-era gaming meme rather than an actively viral one, and it resurfaces whenever a real epidemic story hits the news cycle, as documented in the reference entries covering the phrase[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.crazymonkeygames.com/Pandemic-2.html]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsydDl9aM7s]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shut-down-everything]() 4. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Madagascar]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/shut-down-everything Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library