Only in Oklahoma

Submission 8,642

Part of a series on Can't Even X in Ohio / Only In Ohio. [View Related Entries]

About

Only in Oklahoma is a variant of the Only in Ohio meme on TikTok in which strange videos are likened to happenings in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The trend surfaced in early 2023 following the virality and oversaturation of Ohio memes in late 2022. Many of the Oklahoma videos used CGI animations from TikToker @lotte_vfx and also used Don Pollo TikTok sounds (who's also known as the King of Ohio).

Origin

In July 2022, two TikTok^[1]^[2] videos with text overlay reading "Only in Oklahoma" went viral, however, the videos were actually taken in Oklahoma rather than being abstract videos meant to be satire. The first-known video meme to use "Only in Oklahoma" as a progression of "Only in Ohio" was uploaded on November 23rd, 2022, by the TikTok^[3] account only_in_oklahoma. The video was akin to powerscaling edits in that it portrayed both Detroit and Ohio as weaker than Oklahoma. It received roughly 116,900 plays and 15,600 likes in two months (shown below).

Spread

Going into December 2022, more Oklahoma memes surfaced on TikTok. For instance, on December 17th, 2022, TikToker^[4] onlyinoklahomafr posted an "Only in Oklahoma" video that received roughly 132,300 plays and 5,400 likes in one month (shown below, left). On December 27th, 2022, TikToker^[5] onlyinoklahomafr posted another, similar video that used an ice haircut video, gaining roughly 7.3 million plays and 815,200 likes in one month (shown below, right).

Thereafter, in January 2023, more meme creators joined the growing trend. For instance, on January 3rd, 2023, TikToker^[6] goofygooberactivity posted an "Only in Oklahoma" video that used an animation from TikToker^[7] lotte_vfx and a sound based on Don Pollo, gaining roughly 617,700 plays and 38,700 likes in three weeks (shown below, left). On January 16th, TikToker^[8] vexbolts posted a video that showed Fortnite characters and referenced people from New York, Ohio and Oklahoma, earning roughly 1.1 million plays and 178,200 likes in three days (shown below, right).