1998 Eye Chart

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About

1998 Eye Chart is an eye color diagram from a 1998 doll catalog in which eye colors ranging from light blue to dark brown are assigned individual designations from A10 to T50. In June 2019, a 4chan user created a pseudoscientific "eye caste system" based on the chart, which went viral on iFunny in February 2021 where it inspired memes and parodies. The format is also known as Men Destined to Define Eras. Memes made about the eye chart are akin to both earnest and ironic Lookism and Looksmaxxing discourse.

Origin

The eye chart originates from a 1998 order catalog^[14] for My Twinn dolls and was used for picking the doll's desired eye color, with various colors ranging from light blue to dark brown given designations from "A10" to "T50."

Prior to December 22nd, 2016, an unknown user posted a photograph of two clippings containing images of 26 iris options (image shown below, left).^[1]^[2] Later, an unknown user posted a rearranged version of the same image with the colors aligned by shade (shown below, right).

Prior to becoming a meme, the image was shared online akin to a quiz, with users tagging themselves and asking others to reply with the code corresponding to their eye color. For example, on December 22nd, 2016, iFunny^[1] user Mrs_Matthews_4102020 shared the image, with the post gaining 13 smiles and 30 replies in six and a half years. On January 10th, 2017, Facebook^[3] page Acidmath posted the image, with the post accumulating over 4,500 likes and 106,000 shares in five years. On March 13th, 2018, an unknown Redditor posted the image to the /r/interestingasfuck^[4] subreddit, where it gained over 2,800 upvotes in four years.

On June 15th, 2019, an anonymous 4chan^[5] user posted an edited version of the chart in a /pol/ thread titled "The eye caste system." In the edit, the user distributed the iris colors by tiers, describing A10, the lightest color of blue, as "Men destined to define eras and change history" and T50, the darkest shade of brown, as "Untouchable – sanitation workers, street sweepers" (image shown below). The thread received over 110 replies in three years.

Spread

In the following years, both the original image and the edit were reposted in /pol/ multiple times, with users asking others to report their iris shade.^[6]^[7]

The chart did not achieve viral spread until February 2021, an unknown iFunny user posted the image to the app in a now-deleted post. Starting in late February, iFunny users started posting memes referencing the chart. For example, on February 18th, 2021, iFunny^[8] user FartRightRetard posted the earliest meme referencing the image, with the GIF caption gaining over 50 smiles in one year (shown below, left). On March 5th, 2021, iFunny^[9] user Muthsera posted a Jarvis Commands meme referencing the chart that received over 340 smiles in one year (shown below, center). On March 12th, iFunny^[10] user Roaner posted a Take It Easy, Globehead meme that garnered over 1,100 smiles in one year (shown below, right).

The meme maintained prevalence on the app during spring and summer 2021 as users rated various characters based on it and made memes about people whose iris colors matched various examples on the chart, primarily A10 and T50 irises (examples shown below, left and center). Additionally, the chart has been parodied as users replaced original comments with their versions. For example, on July 12th, 2021, iFunny^[11] user paintedhen posted a meme that gained over 530 smiles in one year (shown below, right).

Starting in June 2021, the format received another development as iFunny users kept the original comments, replacing the eye chart itself with other charts instead. For example, on July 24th, 2021, iFunny^[12] user LordExor posted a height chart meme that gained over 420 smiles in one year (shown below, left). On June 18th, 2022, iFunny^[13] user SnakeBaked posted a chart with various energy trinks that gained over 1,300 smiles in ten days (shown below, right).