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The archive
Find your next rabbit hole.
The apps, objects, rituals and inside jokes that had their moment. Pick a collection, revisit a decade, or follow a story somewhere unexpected.
30 stories to exploreAll stories
Showing 13–24 of 30
Meme moments · May 2025
Vishal Mega Mart guard memes: the real guards saw them too.
In May 2025, memes turned a Vishal Mega Mart security job into an imagined elite career. Reports from actual guards add something the fictional rank lists could not.
Internet rituals · March–April 2025
AI Ghibli portraits: that’s your cat in the picture.
In March 2025, people turned photos and memes into Ghibli-like images. Recognisable faces made the results appealing; the borrowed look brought questions about artists and credit.
Meme moments · July–August 2020
Binod: that was the entire comment.
In 2020, Slayy Point highlighted a YouTube comment containing only a name. People began repeating Binod elsewhere, leaving newcomers with one very reasonable question.
Internet rituals · 2016
Bottle flipping: it only has to land once.
Mike Senatore’s 2016 talent-show landing gave an ordinary bottle a crowd-pleasing moment. Indian attempts followed, and his own story went beyond the clip.
Collectibles · 2024–2025
Dubai chocolate: break it open first.
A pistachio-filled chocolate bar became irresistible viewing before many people tasted it. The FIX original helped inspire kunafa-chocolate versions in India and beyond.
Apps · 2015 Indian wave · app closed 2022
Dubsmash: your face, somebody else’s dialogue.
In 2015, Dubsmash gave a familiar film dialogue a new face. Sonakshi Sinha joined in, Instagram carried the clips, and getting the timing right took practice.
Apps · July 2019
FaceApp: suddenly, looking older was the idea.
In July 2019, FaceApp made older selfies worth sharing. Indian celebrity posts helped the joke along, while questions about uploaded photographs followed close behind.
Internet rituals · 2014
The Ice Bucket Challenge: who nominated you?
The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge travelled through nominations, including Indian celebrity friendships. Behind the familiar splash was an ALS awareness and fundraising campaign.
Collectibles · 2025
Labubu: a small monster to take everywhere.
Labubu reached Pune shops and Indian bags during its 2025 wave. Buyer interviews reveal affection for the toothy collectible alongside blind-box suspense and copies.
Meme moments · Late 2023
Moye Moye: you know the bit that comes next.
Teya Dora’s Džanum became a comic cue in South Asian reels in late 2023. The familiar meme name was a mishearing of a much sadder song.
Apps · 2017–2018
Musical.ly: this is taking more than fifteen seconds.
Indian Musical.ly creators were rehearsing, building audiences and earning from promotions in 2018. Then an app update moved their work under the TikTok name.
Apps · 2016
Pokémon GO: there was a reason for the detour.
Pokémon GO put imaginary creatures on familiar routes in 2016. India’s official December launch followed the global July release, with a Jio partnership of its own.