# Whitest Whites Whitest Whites is a reaction image showing a laundry machine dial twisted to the 'Whitest Whites' setting, used as the punchline to jokes about stereotypically white behavior. The format first appeared in May 2018 on Twitter and quickly spread to Reddit, where it became a go-to visual gag for self-deprecating 'white people' humor across r/dankmemes. ## Origin The earliest known post using the laundry dial image this way came from Twitter user @battIemejadin on May 6th, 2018[1]. They quote-tweeted another user who had written, 'When I lived in California I was Californian. I live in Hawaii, I'm Hawaiian. Sorry, not sorry, if you're offended,' and added the caption 'and the haoles are back at it' above the dial photo[1]. The post picked up more than 4,000 retweets and 12,000 likes within a month[3]. - **Platform:** Twitter (origin) / Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** @battIemejadin (earliest known poster) - **Date:** 2018 ## Overview Whitest Whites is built around a single photograph of a washing machine dial cranked all the way to its brightest laundry setting[1]. The image works as a visual punchline: a setup describes some stereotypically white behavior, and the dial image lands as a mock-serious verdict that the behavior maxes out the whiteness meter[3]. The joke lives entirely in the pairing of caption and image. Early uses targeted things like white people claiming local identity after moving to Hawaii[1], saying the n-word while rapping along to songs alone in the car[2], or the sing-songy 'See you later, Alligator' / 'After a while, Crocodile' exchange with a parent[4]. The tone sits in self-aware, often self-deprecating territory, with most captions playing on recognizable social tics rather than overt racial attacks[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Whitest Whites? Whitest Whites is a reaction image of a laundry machine dial turned to the 'Whitest Whites' setting, used as a punchline to jokes about stereotypically white behavior[3]. ### Where did Whitest Whites come from? The earliest known use was a May 6th, 2018 tweet by @battIemejadin that paired the dial image with a quoted tweet about claiming Hawaiian identity[1]. ### What does Whitest Whites mean? It frames some action, phrase, or habit as maxing out an imaginary whiteness meter, with the dial standing in for a mock-serious verdict[2]. ### How do you use Whitest Whites? A common convention is to write a caption describing a stereotypically white behavior above the dial image, letting the image deliver the punchline[4]. ### Is Whitest Whites still popular? The format peaked on r/dankmemes and r/MemeEconomy in May 2018 and is treated as a classic reaction image rather than an actively trending meme[5][3]. ## References 1. [https://twitter.com/battIemejadin/status/993046469622906882]() 2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/8hds8y/im_not_racist/]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/whitest-whites]() 4. [https://twitter.com/whitememejesus/status/993180571697319939]() 5. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeEconomy/comments/8hrv50/i_see_a_lot_of_potential_in_this/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/whitest-whites Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library