In the mid-‘90s, when consumer internet began spreading to homes across the world—back before corporations figured out how to exert control over every aspect of this technology they could think of—the web was a weird, sometimes wonderful place filled with bizarre jokes and unexpected subcultures. Every now and then, bits of that weird past resurface, bubbling up in the form of seemingly inscrutable memes or, in the case of a new Twitter account called Wiki Titles Singable to TMNT Themesong, exceptionally inane jokes centered on incredibly specific topics.
Behold:
In case you were born after, say, 1996 and have no idea what the hell’s going on here, each phrase is read to the chanting chorus of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song.
The Twitter account, which describes itself as a “bot that posts Wiki titles that you can sing them to the TMNT song!” is based on an XKCD comic from a few years ago, uses a logo generator by Glen Chiacchieri, and runs off a bot created by @_eel__.
It is stupid and pure and wonderful. With the green and red font, the correct number of syllables, and the reader’s cartoon-inflected mind all combined, a stunning array of Wikipedia entries are re-imagined as something heroic—names and phrases that suddenly appear marketable to children and nostalgia prone adults alike.
Each tweet is its own little treasure. Every one of the Wiki titles prompts images of cartoons that were never made, Saturday morning episodes that replaced anthropomorphic turtle warriors with serialized tales of snooker players, Swedish postal codes, or the industry of Maritime Canada.
This account could only be made in our current era, blending the incredible technology that allows us to learn about any subject we can imagine with a melody that played on our TVs a lot as kids. It’s the ‘90s internet dream made real, and while it may not be as immediately stunning as seeing Michelangelo (the nunchaku-wielding turtle) take in the works of Michelangelo (the Renaissance artist), it’s great art.
Send Great Job, Internet tips to gji@theonion.com