Community:Ugandan Knuckles
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Ugandan Knuckles are a series of avatars and memes, depicting a cartoonishly exaggerated parody of Knuckles the Echidna, and often appear as a short, red creature with beady eyes.
Origin
Who is Knuckles?
Ugandan Knuckles is a parody of the character, Knuckles the Echidna, from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, developed by SEGA Corporation. Knuckles debuted in 1994, in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, as a secondary antagonist, working under the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Eggman).
Gregzilla's original parody
The original parody design for Knuckles, originates from a fan review of Sonic Lost World, published on YouTube by Gregzilla on February 20, 2017, in the video titled "KINDA REVIEWS // Sonic Lost World"[1]. At the time, this rendition was not yet referred to as 'Ugandan' Knuckles.
Further parodies of Knuckles
Further parodies of Gregzilla's rendition of Knuckles would also spawn videos of Knuckles singing[2][3]. On September 16, 2017, DeviantArt user tidiestflyer would upload[4] the first downloadable model iteration of Gregzilla's Knuckles. This model would be uploaded to VRChat, and used by trolls.
The term "Ugandan Knuckles" is coined
The term "Ugandan Knuckles" referring to the avatar, would be coined after a video uploaded on December 27, 2017 by SoyerCake titled "Uganda Knuckles"[5]. Another video uploaded by Tanksblast on December 28, 2017 titled "Ugandan Knuckles Tribe"[6], remixes VRChat footage, and Knuckles singing.
Popularization of the "Ugandan Knuckles" meme
The meme for Ugandan Knuckles was popularized by a series of videos posted to YouTube, in January of 2018. Starting on January 3, 2018, a video uploaded by VRChat user Jameskii titled "Uganda Knuckles (VRChat)"[7], and later, a video titled "VRChat in a nutshell 3"[8] on January 9, 2018.
On January 5, 2018, YouTuber Berd, would publish a video titled "the ugandan warrior experience"[9]. Another notable video comes from "UGANDA KNUCKLES"[10] uploaded by Pyrocynical on January 14, 2018. Videos centered around the meme, were also uploaded by channels, such as REACT[11], and Behind The Meme.[12].
VRChat's population boom
Due to the popularity of Ugandan Knuckles, and its direct relationship to VRChat, this led to a population boom of VRChat users in early 2018.
VRChat has acknowledged[13] a population spike of 12,000 concurrent users[14], simultaneously with server issues on January 5th, however, VRChat's Status account reported server instabilities in January of 2018 numerous times[15], likely correlating to new users joining the platform due to the correlation from the meme.
A few days later, on January 9th, VRChat published an "open letter"[16] to the community regarding the recent population boom, and thanking VRChat streamers via Medium, as well as re-sharing[17] a Ugandan Knuckles meme on Facebook.
Derivative works
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References
- ↑ KINDA REVIEW // Sonic Lost World on YouTube by Gregzilla, on February 20, 2017; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ knuckles sings on YouTube by Gregzilla, on March 6, 2017; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ Knuckles sings suicide is painless on YouTube by ItsUmU (credited to "Hubert c."), on September 27, 2017; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ The Knuckles meme as a 3d model published to DeviantArt by tidiestflyer, on September 16, 2017; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ Uganda Knuckles on YouTube by SoyerCake, on December 27, 2017; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ Ugandan Knuckles Tribe on YouTube by Tanksblast, on December 28, 2017; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ Uganda Knuckles (VRChat) on YouTube by Jameskii, on January 3, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024
- ↑ VRChat in a nutshell 3 on YouTube by Jameskii, on January 9, 2018
- ↑ the ugandan warrior experience on YouTube by Berd, on January 5, 2018.
- ↑ UGANDA KNUCKLES on YouTube by Pyrocynical, on January 13, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ ELDERS REACT TO UGANDAN KNUCKLES on YouTube by REACT, on January 19, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ What is uganda knuckles? The history and origin of do u know da wae memes on YouTube by Behind the Meme, on January 26, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ We have just passed 10,000 concurrent users in VRChat!!!, posted by VRChat on X.com on January 5, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ A few hours later and we're at 12,000 posted on X.com, by VRChat on January 5, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ VRChat Status posts on X.com; retrieved on September 26, 2024.
- Post on January 4, 2018
- Post on January 5, 2018
- Post on January 6, 2018
- Post on January 7, 2018
- Post on January 7, 2018
- Post on January 9, 2018
- Post on January 9, 2018
- Post on January 12, 2018
- Post on January 13, 2018
- Post on January 14, 2018
- Post on January 17, 2018
- Post on January 18, 2018
- Post on January 21, 2018
- Post on January 28, 2018
- ↑ An open letter to our community published on Medium, by VRChat, on January 9, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ↑ Let us show you the way... to make the world a better place. posted on Facebook, by Sonic the Hedgehog (corporate account) on January 11, 2018; retrieved September 26, 2024.
