The Lorax 1,000 Yard Stare

Submission 4,345

Part of a series on Thousand Yard Stare. [View Related Entries]

About

The Lorax 1,000 Yard Stare, also written The Lorax Thousand Yard Stare, refers to a variation of the Thousand Yard Stare meme that replaces the staring, shell-shocked soldier with Dr. Suess' The Lorax. The original drawing or painting was created by artist Briman2000 in mid-2023 and posted to Instagram. Going into 2024, it became a reaction image on Twitter / X and elsewhere. Usage of the image also became akin to engagement bait posts from gimmick accounts, leading to criticism.

Origin

On March 3rd, 2023, Instagram^[1] user @briman2000 posted a Reel that was part one of a series he dubbed "Lorax has the thousand-log stare." The video showed his original artwork that related to the The Lorax and Thomas Lea's painting The 2,000 Yard Stare. Over one year, the video received roughly 237,500 likes (shown below, left).

On March 13th, 2023, @briman2000 posted part two of the series to Instagram^[2] as a Reel, gaining over 207,000 likes in one year (shown below, right). The Reel ended with the colored version of The Lorax 1,000 Yard Stare.

Briman2000 uploaded the image as a print to his website^[3] soon after, titling it Unless. On August 22nd, 2023, @briman2000 posted the colored version of The Lorax 1,000 Yard Stare to Instagram,^[4] gaining over 129,900 likes in six months (shown below).

Spread

The first known viral repost of the image was on May 5th, 2023, by iFunnier ^[5] @Akimana, gaining over 15,600 smiles in nine months.

Viral usage of the image predominantly spread on Twitter / X. For instance, an early, viral usage was a quote about Tom Holland Getting Backshots posted by X^[6] user @DJProfessorL on June 20th, 2023, who made fun of people who were being dramatic about the scene, gaining over 2,700 likes in eight months (shown below, left).

On July 10th, 2023, X^[7] user @AyeReggie posted the image, captioning it, "Season 2 of the show me and her used to watch coming out soon," earning over 8,200 likes in seven months (shown below, right).

Going into late 2023, The Lorax 1,000 Yard Stare gained predominant usage from gimmick accounts on Twitter / X to promote engagement bait and the spread of shock media following the Don't Google format. For instance, an early, viral example was a tweet shared by X^[8] user @huncho on September 3rd, 2023, about Logan Paul's fiancé Nina Agdal, gaining over 155,000 likes in five months (shown below, left).

On November 2nd, 2023, X^[9] user @ayeejuju used the image to promote The Frog Video, gaining over 153,000 likes in four months (shown below, right).

The image was used to promote multiple shock videos and leaks like Drake's leak in a viral February 6th, 2024 post on X.^[10]

Usage of The Lorax 1,000 Yard Stare, as well as the regular 1,000 Yard Stare, was eventually criticized and parodied by users online. For instance, on February 29th, 2024, X^[11] user @gimmickannoying tweeted screenshots of gimmick accounts like @ayeejuju trying to promote one of Ye's Instagram stories, joking, "im going to fucking lose it," and receiving over 27,000 likes in less than a day (shown below, left).

Then, later on February 29th, 2024, X^[12] user @marionumber4 tweeted a When I'm in a Competition and My Opponent Is referencing the gimmick account phenomenon, earning over 8,700 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Kurt Angle 1,000-Yard Stare

Kurt Angle 1,000-Yard Stare, also known as the Bald Guy Staring, Kurt Angle Staring or Kurt Angle Thousand-Yard Stare, refers to a video of professional wrestler Kurt Angle staring into the camera similar to the 1,000 Yard Stare meme. The meme trended on TikTok in late 2023, paired with distressing and creepy captions. Then, the video spread as a reaction image and GIF across websites like Twitter / X and Instagram, among others.