# Shut Up and Take My Money > Shut Up and Take My Money is a 2010 image-macro from Futurama featuring Fry waving cash and screaming the phrase to express instant, unquestioning enthusiasm for products. "Shut Up And Take My Money!" is a catchphrase and image macro meme from the animated series *Futurama*, where the character Fry screams the line while waving cash at a store clerk. Originating from a July 2010 episode, the meme became the internet's default reaction for expressing instant, no-questions-asked enthusiasm for a product or idea. It spawned a dedicated subreddit, a retail website, and countless derivatives across every major platform. ## Origin The line comes from "Attack of the Killer App," the third episode of *Futurama*'s sixth season, which aired on Comedy Central on July 1, 2010[4]. Written by Patric Verrone, the episode parodies Apple's iPhone culture through a fictional device called the "eyePhone," manufactured by the evil MomCorp[2]. When Fry goes to buy one, the store clerk warns him about poor reception, short battery life, and no carrier choice. Fry cuts him off mid-sentence: "Shut up and take my money!"[2]. The day after the episode aired, the German tech blog Crackajack published a post about the episode and included what appears to be the first image macro of Fry with the caption[3]. The screenshot of Fry waving his money, frozen in that perfect frame of consumer desperation, was ready-made for the internet. - **Platform:** Comedy Central (*Futurama* broadcast), German tech blog Crackajack (first image macro) - **Creator:** Patric Verrone (writer of the episode) - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview The meme features a screenshot of Philip J. Fry from *Futurama* holding a fistful of dollar bills, mouth open mid-yell, with the caption "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!" The image macro format is simple: Fry's intense expression paired with the catchphrase, used as a reaction to anything someone finds irresistibly appealing. Products, movie announcements, concept designs, ridiculous gadgets, hypothetical inventions. If it exists and someone wants it badly enough, Fry's face shows up[3]. The phrase also works as a standalone text comment without the image, making it one of those rare memes that functions equally well in visual and text-only contexts[5]. ## How It Spread The phrase caught on fast across web forums and imageboards, where people dropped it as a reaction whenever someone posted a cool gadget, clever invention, or dream product[3]. Reddit became its primary home, where users regularly titled posts with the catchphrase alongside photos and videos of new technology. On March 7, 2011, Redditor calivessel posted a photo of a credit card with Fry's image printed on it to r/pics. The post hit the front page and pulled in over 4,000 upvotes[3]. The following month, on April 26, 2011, the subreddit r/shutupandtakemymoney launched, dedicated to "the best, most creative, and classiest gadgets and nerdware on the interwebz"[3]. A week later, on May 3, 2011, the domain shutupandtakemymoney.com was registered as a retail site for novelty gadgets and products[3]. The meme spread to FunnyJunk, Tumblr, and DeviantArt[1], where fan artists created their own character-specific versions. A Facebook page for the meme had picked up nearly 1,900 likes by early 2012[3]. The original Fry image became a template for derivatives using the phrasal format "Shut up and take my [X]!"[3]. ## How to Use The meme works in two main ways: **As a reaction:** Post the Fry image macro (or just type the phrase) in response to any product, concept, announcement, or idea you find irresistible. The humor comes from mimicking Fry's blind consumer enthusiasm, often for things that are absurd, overpriced, or don't even exist yet. **As a template:** Swap Fry for another character holding money or making a similar gesture, keeping the "Shut up and take my [X]!" format. People commonly replace "money" with context-specific words[3]. The meme typically works best when the thing being reacted to is genuinely cool but slightly impractical, like a concept phone made of transparent glass or a pizza vending machine. The joke sits in that gap between "this is ridiculous" and "I would absolutely buy this." ## Cultural Impact The line crossed back into real life in an oddly fitting way. At the 2022 Los Angeles Comic Con, writer Patric Verrone told a story about visiting an Apple store weeks after the episode aired. A clerk was trying to upsell him on additional products, and Verrone said he blurted out "Shut up and take my money!" to cut the pitch short[2]. The irony wasn't lost on him. In the show, Fry says the line out of blind excitement. In real life, Verrone used it out of impatience, wanting to pay and leave[2]. Verrone's colleague David X. Cohen had a similar experience with *Futurama* dialogue entering everyday language. Cohen, who co-created *Futurama*, previously wrote the word "cromulent" for *The Simpsons*, which eventually made it into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary[2]. The meme also generated real commerce. The r/shutupandtakemymoney subreddit became a genuine product discovery community, and the shutupandtakemymoney.com website operated as an actual storefront for quirky consumer goods[3]. The Wikipedia article for the episode explicitly notes it as the origin of the meme[4]. ## Fun Facts - Patric Verrone unknowingly predicted his own behavior. He wrote the line as satire about mindless consumerism, then used it himself at an Apple store weeks later[2]. - The episode "Attack of the Killer App" also parodied Twitter (as "Twitcher") and Susan Boyle (as a singing boil named Susan), but only the "take my money" line survived as a lasting meme[4]. - The episode was viewed by an estimated 2.159 million households in its original broadcast[4]. - The IGN reviewer gave the episode an 8.5/10, while the A.V. Club gave it a B[4]. - An Urban Dictionary entry for the phrase describes it as what you say when you hear about a product that "gives you a handjob every time you win a game"[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Shut Up And Take My Money? It's a catchphrase and image macro meme from *Futurama* featuring the character Fry screaming the line while holding cash, used to express overwhelming enthusiasm for a product or idea[3]. ### Where did Shut Up And Take My Money come from? The line was written by Patric Verrone for the *Futurama* episode "Attack of the Killer App," which aired on July 1, 2010, on Comedy Central[2]. ### What does Shut Up And Take My Money mean? It expresses the feeling of wanting something so badly that you don't need to hear any more details. Just stop talking and let me buy it[5]. ### How do you use Shut Up And Take My Money? Post the Fry image macro or type the phrase as a reply whenever something is announced or shown that you'd buy without hesitation[3]. ### Is Shut Up And Take My Money still popular? The meme peaked in the early-to-mid 2010s and spawned a dedicated subreddit and retail website. It's still widely recognized and used occasionally, though less frequently than at its height[3]. ### What episode of Futurama does Shut Up And Take My Money come from? "Attack of the Killer App," season 6, episode 3, which aired July 1, 2010[4]. ### Who wrote the Shut Up And Take My Money line? Screenwriter Patric Verrone, who later reenacted the scene in a real Apple store[2]. ### What is the eyePhone in Futurama? A parody of Apple's iPhone, the eyePhone is a device implanted directly in the user's eye, manufactured by the fictional MomCorp. It's the product Fry buys when he says the line[4]. ### Is there a subreddit for Shut Up And Take My Money? Yes, r/shutupandtakemymoney was created on April 26, 2011, as a community for sharing cool and creative products[3]. ### Did the writer really say the line in an Apple store? Yes. At the 2022 LA Comic Con, Patric Verrone confirmed he used the line on an Apple store employee who was upselling him, just weeks after the episode aired[2]. ## References 1. [Search 'shut up and take my money' on DeviantArt - Discover The Largest Online Art Gallery and Community]() 2. [Futurama's Famous 'Take My Money' Meme Followed Its Creator Into Real Life]() 3. [Shut Up And Take My Money! - Know Your Meme]() 4. [Attack of the Killer App]() 5. [Shut Up And Take My Money! - Urban Dictionary]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/shut-up-and-take-my-money Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library