241543903 is the search query for the most googled image last year. Google is one of the most powerful and popular search engines in the world. It has often been used for advertising. While searching for a query on google, users are displayed links, photos, and even videos on the search result page. When things are searched by many people repeatedly, they become search trends.
Today, we are going to talk about one such search trend which took the Internet by storm. This happened when the number 241543903 was searched on it. People saw a result that became trending instantly. Keep reading to know what amused the people and the real story behind it.
What Is 241543903
The number 241543903 is a numeric keyword associated with a photo that blew the internet off with its popularity.
It was observed that when people searched the number 241543903 on google, numerous pictures of people with their heads in the freezer were shown. Soon, it became a trend. People started taking pictures of them with their heads stuck in the freezer and posting them online.
This high amount of tagging and sharing a picture with a cryptic number led to a high level of search engine optimization. As a result, searching for 241543903 successfully displayed pictures of people with their heads in the freezer.
Who Started The 241543903 Trend And Why?
You are not alone if you have been thinking about the mastermind who started this trend. Reportedly, the trend was originated by a New York-based artist ‘David Horvitz’ on 6th April 2009. He began this eccentric project by posting a pic of himself with his head in the freezer and tagging the number 241543903 on Flickr.
He urged people to do the same thing by uploading a picture of them in the same pose and tagging themselves with the same number. Horvitz tricked google so that every search query with that particular number resulted in showing a picture of people’s heads in the freezer. He achieved it too.
The following year, 2010, Horvitz appeared in an interview with Urlesque and explained what inspired him to do it.
In that context, he said that the thought struck his mind while suggesting a DIY solution to a sick friend ‘Mylinh’ suffering from a headache. When asked about the origin of the number, he said that 241543903 is a random combination of the serial number of the refrigerator and different things stored in his freezer, particularly the barcode of a bag of edamame, and a package of frozen soba noodles.
Spread Of 241543903
It is no surprise that the Internet is one of the bizarre inventions of humankind. The content gets spread within minutes of uploading it. The same thing happened when Horvitz uploaded picture 241543903 on 6th April on Flickr.
The same day, another user ‘SakeBalboa’ posted pictures with his head stuck in the freezer on Flickr. Within weeks, Flickr was bombarded with a picture of people’s heads tagged with the number 241543903.
On April 23rd, the first single topic blog named ‘Heads in Freezer’ was registered under the domain 241543903. com. The website’s home page displayed the same picture captioned ‘Experiencing a MEME in the making’.
With such popularity among people, photos eventually spread to other social media platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Horvitz mentioned the meme in his book of instructions with the title ‘Everything That Can Happen in a Day, published by Random House in November 2010.
Spread Of The Meme In Japan And Brazil:
Do not blame yourself for googling why and how the meme that originated in New York is somehow linked with Japan and Brazil as we have been doing the same too. We found the answer and thought of sharing it with you all. Keep reading to know more.
The 241543903 memes soon became an international sensation after gaining huge popularity on Flickr. Japan and Brazil hold the highest ground in the international spread of the meme.
In an interview with Urlesque, Horvitz credited this international success of the meme to his friend from Brazil. He stated that his friend returned to Brazil from New York in April 2009. And apparently, his friend re-posted the same instructions with the picture and circulated it to the locals and youths on the streets of Brazil.
The actual Buzz was created among the people of Brazil when it got uploaded to the most popular site among Brazilian internet users Orkut. This also led to the spread of memes in Japan in 2009.
Revival Of 241543903 In 2010
Everything has an expiry date. Whether it’s humans, animals, plants, or things, everything that becomes hype becomes normal after a certain duration. The same thing happened with the 241543903 memes too.
After gaining huge popularity on then-popular social media platforms like Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, Orkut, and Google the meme lost its vitality.
In 2010, the resurgence of the 241543903 memes took place when an individual uploaded the same picture with the instructions on Tumblr.
It surpassed the total likes on Horvitz’s original post by getting more than 2,000 likes and reblogs within days. The blogs received much more engagement than before. This all eventually resulted in the meme witnessing its peak popularity in December 2010.
Conclusion:
Google, one of the most popular search engines in the world, is constantly flooded with pictures, videos, and blogs that become viral within seconds. The 241543903 meme prompted by a New York-based artist David Horvitz is one such example.
He presented his DIY idea of a headache cure in the most creative way ever by uploading a picture of himself with his head in the freezer. People liked his idea and followed his instructions by posting pictures of themselves doing the same. Within no time, the meme got famous worldwide. Horvitz played it to trick google and pretty much succeeded in it too.
Google still displays similar pictures while searching for query number 241543903. Don’t believe us? Check it yourself by entering that particular number on Google now!
