Jetstream Sam Thinking

About

Jetstream Sam Thinking, also known as Jetstream Sam's "I Should X", is a GIF caption meme format based on a cutscene of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance character Jetstream Sam rubbing his chin in thought. The format gained virality with surreal and shitpost captions that imagined Jetstream Sam considering intrusive thoughts or obviously stupid and harmful things such as dipping his testicles in sulphuric acid.

Origin

On April 9th, 2013, Jetstream Sam DLC for the 2013 video game Metal Gear Rising: Revengenace was released,^[1] featuring the side character Jetstream Sam as a protagonist. In the opening cutscene of the game, Jetstream Sam rubs his chin in thought as he considers the way he plans to infiltrate the enemy headquarters (scene shown below).

On June 16th, 2016, Tumblr^[2] user punchfun posteda collection of Jetstream Sam posted a collection of five GIFs from the cutscene, including the GIF of Jetstream Sam rubbing his chin (shown below). The post gained over 1,500 likes and reblogs in six years.

Spread

Starting in late 2018, the GIF saw occasional use as a reaction GIF after on September 24th, 2018, Tenor^[3] user JaxDreyar24 uploaded it. For example, on July 19th, 202, Twitter^[4] user @Spider__Ninja posted the GIF in a MGRR thread. On December 2nd, 2020, Tumblr^[5] user reposted the GIF from punchfun to react to a joke by another user, with the exchange gaining over 55,000 likes and reblogs in two years.

The GIF did not achieve viral spread until January 11th, 2022, when Reddditor^[6] LeoWeebK27 captioned it, "I should dip my balls in sulfuric acid." The post served as a trigger point for the spread of both the Jetstream Sam Thinking GIF caption format and for memes exploring the premise of dipping one's testicles into acid.

In the following weeks, the GIF caption received viral spread on Discord. On January 22nd, 2022, Tenor^[7] user josetwobows posted the earliest found derivative meme based on the GIF, captioning it with a reference to You Should Kill Yourself… Now! meme (shown below, left). On January 27th, 2022, Redditor^[8] LanDest021 posted a GIF caption demonstrating the viral spread of "I should dip my balls in sulfuric acid" meme on Discord, with the post gaining over 1,100 upvotes in /r/ontheledgeandshit (shown below, center). On February 5th, Redditor Super_Snack_Jack posted a meme in which Jetstream Sam considered another obviously stupid thing to do, with the post gaining over 3,400 upvotes in /r/shitposting (shown below, right).^[9]

In February and March 2022, the GIF achieved virality as source material for GIF captions in which Jetstream Sam pondered various intrusive thoughts and obviously stupid and harmful ideas.

Related Memes

I Should Dip My Balls in Sulfuric Acid

I Should Dip My Balls in Sulfuric Acid refers to a series of memes in which various characters, particularly Jetstream Sam and the rest of the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance cast, ponder, promise, express an irresistible urge, and describe the consequences of dipping their testicles in acid.

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References