What is the snail meme on TikTok? Immortal Snail meme explained

22 October 2021, 12:06

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By Katie Louise Smith

The Immortal Snail trend first gain popularity in 2014 and has now taken over TikTok. Here's how it started.

If you've been on TikTok over the past few days, you may have been wondering: What do all those snail memes mean?

Last week, a meme that referenced a 2014 hypothetical joke scenario about a snail that is trying to kill you went viral, and now the memes have spilled over to TikTok. But where does it come from?

As explained on KnowYourMeme, the Immortal Snail refers to "a hypothetical scenario in which a person is given millions of dollars and made immortal in exchange for being hunted down by a snail with a fatal touch for the rest of their existence."

Here's what you need to know about how the TikTok snail memes started...

What does the Immortal Snail meme on TikTok mean?

How did the Immortal Snail meme start?

The Immortal Snail first gained popularity on the internet back in 2014, originating in an episode of the Rooster Teeth podcast. The hypothetical situation evolved and took on several other lives, and has been a topic of conversation on Reddit ever since.

In the podcast, the hosts pose the question: "Would you take $10 million, but for the rest of your life, there's a snail that's tying to get you and you can't be touched by the snail or you'll die?"

They also add that you and the snail are immortal, but the snail can only move at the pace of a snail.

Flash forward to 2021 and the Immortal Snail has had a comeback thanks to TikTok. Last week (Oct 15), user Marshmallows posted a reference to the snail meme on iFunny.co with a caption that read: "Me and the snail, billions of years in the future as the dying sun closes in on the Earth."

Now, snail memes have completely taken over TikTok.

Over the past seven days, videos referencing the Immortal Snail meme have been popping up all over TikTok, racking up thousands and thousands of likes each time. So far, the #ImmortalSnail hashtag has 36 million views.

The majority of the videos are also set to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)', the same track used in the viral iFunny.co post.

Each caption usually explains a POV of you finally coming face to face with the snail after hundreds and hundreds of years, paired with an iconic stand-off scene from a film, TV show or game. There's also POVs of the snail popping up randomly in your everyday life when you're least expecting it.

Some people have even turned to the multiverse to make the snail memes even more inventive. Others have simply rejected the idea of ever being caught by the snail. Put it in a jar! Trap it in one of those little hamster wheels so it can never touch you! Hack the system!

One thing is for sure... If the snail finds me on a Bones day, it's over for them x

READ MORE: The best memes of 2021 (so far)

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