I Think There's a First Date Going On Near Me

About

I Think There's a First Date Going On Near Me refers to a viral tweet in which a user details a conversation he overhears between a Harry Potter enthusiast and their apparently uninterested date. After the tweet grew popular, it was parodied as a copypasta and snowclone featuring different subcultures.

Origin

On September 9th, 2018, Twitter user Eric Smith^[1] (@ericsmithrocks) tweeted an excerpt from what he believed was a first date happening near him. The excerpt features a Harry Potter fan excitedly telling their date about how she's a "Hufflepuff," meaning she shares traits with students of that house at Hogwarts. The date appears disinterested, and Smith writes "GET OUT OF THERE SWEET HUFFLEPUFF!" The tweet gained over 10,000 retweets and 80,000 likes (shown below).

Spread

As the tweet grew popular, other Twitter users commented that it was odd the tweet was so popular ostensibly for siding with the Harry Potter enthusiast. Artist Ryan Pequin (creator of Three Word Phrase) tweeted "oh, we’re rooting for that one. ok," gaining over 1,400 retweets and 10,000 likes (shown below, left). Twitter user @allyzay was more elaborate in her criticism, saying "Why am I supposed to sympathize with the "Hufflepuff" and not their adult date who told them multiple times they aren't interested in this topic of conversation. Y'all would be livid if this was a person hammering on about sports to a disinterested date." Her tweet gained over 6,500 retweets and 38,000 likes (shown below, right).

Meanwhile, other Twitter users began parodying the original by recreating it with different subcultures. For example, @mikumiku_ebooks posted a parody related to Hatsune Miku that gained over 320 retweets and 1,300 likes (shown below, left). User @MistysMisties posted a Kirby version, gaining over 90 retweets and 500 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References