Half-Life Microwave
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About
Half-Life Microwave refers to a minor easter egg in the 1998 video game Half-Life in which Gordon Freeman can destroy a casserole heating up in a microwave by messing with its buttons. The interaction has been referenced in memes since as early as 2011, with an AI voice meme in which a scientist angrily reacts to it going viral in 2023. Additionally, the interaction inspired a meme speedrun category sometimes referred to as "Casserole%."
Origin
On November 19th, 1998, the first-person shooter video game Half-Life was released.[1] In the second chapter of the game, Anomalous Materials protagonist Gordon Freeman can enter the cafeteria and interact with several objects in the room, including a microwave heating up a casserole. Upon interaction, Gordon presses several buttons and causes a small explosion, causing a nearby scientist to react (video shown below).
My god, what are you doing?!
The easter egg is referenced in the 2007 game Half-Life 2: Episode 2 in which character Arne Magnusson reveals that it was his casserole that Gordon Freeman destroyed and promises to forgive him if he succeeds in his objective.[2]
On December 18th, 2011, Know Your Meme[3] user Stormwatch archived the earliest discovered meme referencing the easter egg, an Are You a Wizard meme that received 25 upvotes on the site (shown below).
Spread
On February 7th, 2023, YouTube[4] user The Pootis Saver posted an AI voice meme in which a scientist scolds Freeman for messing with the microwave. The video (shown below) garnered over 780,000 views on YouTube and received further spread on TikTok and X / Twitter through reposts.
Gordon, you lousy motherfucker, get your dork ass down to the test chamber or else I will shove the sample up your ass. And stop fucking with the microwave!
The video then inspired reanimations over the following months. For example, on February 21st, 2023, Redditor gethtemdiamonds posted a Source Filmmaker animation that gained over 3,200 upvotes in the /r/HalfLife[5] subreddit in one year (YouTube reupload shown below, left). On July 30th, YouTube[6] user Hope Papernacky posted an animation that garnered over 388,000 views in seven months (shown below, right).
Additionally, the interaction inspired the Casserole% meme speedrun category that involved players speedrunning from the start of the chapter to cause the microwave explosion (examples shown below, left and right).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] The Half-Life & Portal Encyclopedia – Half-Life
[2] Reddit – At the beginning of the first Half Life you can press a button on a microwave that causes a scientist's soup to be ruined, for which he becomes angry.
[3] Half-Life – Image #218,881
[4] YouTube – aggressive scientist snaps during lunch break
[5] Reddit – Gordon! Get Your Dork Ass down to the Test Chamber!
[6] YouTube – Gordon, you lousy mf but I animated it
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