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:''The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.''
:''The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.''
:''Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries. Ever.''
:''Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries. Ever.''
:''When Chuck Norris has sex with a man, it won't be because he is gay. It will be because he has run out of women.''
:''When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't lift himself up... he pushes the earth down.''
:''When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't lift himself up... he pushes the earth down.''


Revision as of 01:57, 15 January 2009

Chuck Norris facts are satirical factoids about martial artist and actor Chuck Norris that have become an Internet phenomenon and as a result have become widespread in popular culture. The facts are normally absurd hyperbolic claims about Norris's toughness, attitude, virility, sophistication, and masculinity, for example:

Jesus walked on water, but Chuck Norris swam through land
The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries. Ever.
When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't lift himself up... he pushes the earth down.

The facts typically claim that Chuck Norris is some type of tough, all-powerful superbeing. The Chuck Norris facts have spread around the world, leading not only to translated versions, but also spawning localized versions mentioning country-specific advertisements and other Internet phenomena. Allusions are also sometimes made to his use of roundhouse kicks to perform seemingly any task, his large amount of body hair with specific regard to his beard, and his role in the action television series Walker, Texas Ranger.

Background

Chuck Norris Facts originally started appearing on the Internet in early 2005. Conan O'Brien's Chuck Norris jokes on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (which generally center on Walker, Texas Ranger) have been seen as an inspiration for the fad. Chuck Norris Facts followed facts based on actors Vin Diesel, Mr. T, and Bob Saget. The exaggerated style of these facts is similar to a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch called Bill Brasky. These are similar to tall tales such as those of Paul Bunyan. Chuck Norris Facts surged into the gaming community shortly after a Chuck Norris Fact generator was introduced as a World of Warcraft add-on in early 2006[1].

Norris's response

Chuck Norris responded to the Chuck Norris Facts on his official website, chucknorris.com, with a statement. He was generally surprised and flattered by the attention. Admitting some of the statements were indeed humorous, he tries not to take any of them seriously, and he hopes that such statements will interest people in real facts about Chuck Norris contained in his literary works. [2] On October 23, 2006, Chuck Norris' first column for WorldNetDaily consisted of yet another response. It began similarly to the above quote from chucknorris.com, but then disclaimed Norris' own prowess in favor of God and Jesus Christ.

One of the satirical facts made of Norris states that "There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live". Upon hearing this, Chuck replied:

It's funny. It's cute. But here's what I really think about the theory of evolution: it's not real. It is not the way we got here. In fact, the life you see on this planet is really just a list of creatures God has allowed to live. We are not creations of random chance. We are not accidents. There is a God, a Creator, who made you and me. We were made in His image, which separates us from all other creatures. By the way, without Him, I don't have any power. But with Him, the Bible tells me, I really can do all things — and so can you.[3]

Norris appeared in a 2007 commercial for Mountain Dew where he had his revenge on the two fictional webmasters of a popular site that featured Norris in a humorous light, undoubtedly a reference to the Chuck Norris Facts meme.[4]

On November 29, 2007, Gotham Books, the adult division of Penguin USA, released a book entitled The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World's Greatest Human.[5] Norris subsequently filed suit in December against Penguin USA claiming "trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights".[6]

Prominent mentions

  • Norris has appeared on The Tony Danza Show and The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and has been questioned regarding the satirical facts. In the latter show, he read up the current Top 10 facts, as well as mentioning his favorite one was "They once tried to carve Chuck Norris' face into Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn't hard enough for his beard".
  • Rolling Stone magazine featured a short blurb regarding the facts.
  • In the March 20, 2006 issue, TIME magazine interviewed Chuck Norris, calling him an "online cult hero." In the answer to their last question, he called the Chuck Norris Facts "weird but wildly popular sayings" and quoted one: "Chuck Norris can divide by zero."[7]
  • On an episode of The Daily Show in a parody of Alaskan senator Ted Stevens' comments about the Internet being a "Series of tubes," John Hodgman stated that beneath every American home there were indeed a series of tubes and they could be used to send various pieces of information, mainly Chuck Norris Facts.
  • On "Boys Do Cry," a 2007 episode of Family Guy, Peter Griffin mentions a Chuck Norris Fact that, when challenged by Brian, turns out to be true when Chuck Norris suddenly appears and punches him with a fist concealed under his beard.
  • Chuck Norris plays a prominent role in the internet meme "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny."
  • One of GaiaOnline's February 2006 'monthly collectibles' is presumably named after Chuck Norris. The Item itself has an allusive name (Chyaku Norisu) and its description resembles one of the Facts: "There are only two things in the world that can cut diamonds ... other diamonds and CHYAKU NORISU!!"
  • Several Facebook applications exist which generate Chuck Norris Facts for visitors to read.[8]
  • Famed Internet writer and author Maddox dedicated an entire chapter of his bestseller The Alphabet of Manliness to Chuck Norris facts.
  • Governor Mike Huckabee, as a 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate, made a campaign video with Chuck Norris called HuckChuckFacts[9]. In it, he tells Chuck Norris facts, while Norris responds with endorsements of Huckabee. Rival Republican candidate Mitt Romney responded with a Chuck Norris Fact-themed advertisement of his own.[10]

Spin-off jokes

Due to the popularity of Chuck Norris facts, and in order to keep this style of jokes fresh, other celebrities have become the target of similar jokes, such as Linux kernel hacker and creator Linus Torvalds,[11] actor Vin Diesel,[12] Kevin Federline,[13] Ron Paul,[14] Mr. T,[15] Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders,[16] Bruce Schneier,[17] Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow,[18] professional Magic: The Gathering player Jon Finkel,[19] Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels,[20] Cambridge astrophysicist Dave Green,[21] actor Bruce Campbell,[22] Bill Nye[23] Olympics swimming champion Michael Phelps[24], and US President-elect Barack Obama[25].

These jokes have also been extended to fictional characters, such as the television series 24 character Jack Bauer,[26] Batman,[27] and Captain Falcon[28] from the F-Zero games.

A Google search for "Find Chuck Norris," if the user clicks "I'm Feeling Lucky," opens a website called nochucknorris.com, which looks like a Google search results page and reads, "Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you."[29]

References

  1. ^ Curse Gaming - the original add-on can be found at http://wow.curse.com/downloads/details/2242/
  2. ^ Chuck Norris. "In response to the "Random facts" that are being generated on the Internet". Retrieved 2004-12-04.
  3. ^ "On Chuck Norris 'mania' sweeping the Net". WorldNetDaily. 2006-10-23.
  4. ^ Miller, Liz. "Chuck Norris Gets His Vengeance". The Daily Reel. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  5. ^ Ian Spector. The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 Facts About the World's Greatest Human. Gotham. ISBN 978-1592403448. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Kearney, Christine (2007-12-21). "Chuck Norris sues, says his tears no cancer cure". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  7. ^ Keegan, Rebecca Winters (2006-03-20). "People". Time. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
  8. ^ Facebook Search for 'Chuck Norris' Accessed February 03, 2008
  9. ^ "HuckChuckFacts". Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  10. ^ "Roundhouse Kick". Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  11. ^ "Linus Torvalds Facts".
  12. ^ "Vin Diesel Facts Page".
  13. ^ MuddButt.com
  14. ^ Ron Paul Facts - The Beginning
  15. ^ 4Q.cc >> Top 100 Facts for Mr. T
  16. ^ Bob Sanders facts - Unofficial Indianapolis Colts Fan Forums
  17. ^ "Schneier Facts". Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  18. ^ Tim Tebow Facts
  19. ^ "Jon Finkel Facts".
  20. ^ Cole Hamels Facts dot com
  21. ^ "Dave Green Facts". Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  22. ^ ~*~ Bruce Campbell Facts ~*~
  23. ^ Bill Nye is the chuck norris of the Science World
  24. ^ http://michaelphelpsfacts.com/Welcome.html
  25. ^ http://www.theobamafacts.com/
  26. ^ "Facts on Jack Bauer".
  27. ^ Random Batman Fact
  28. ^ Captain Falcon Facts
  29. ^ Google search results "Find Chuck Norris"
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