Beach Memes

Will Butler:

You're listening to Say My Meme, the podcast that describes the internet's best memes for a blind audience. I'm your co-host, Will Butler, from Be My Eyes, and I'm joined by Caroline Desrosiers from Scribely. Whew. It's a scorcher out here, huh?

Caroline Desrosiers:

It's super hot. I can't take it anymore.

Will Butler:

Are they calling it the heat dome up there? Have you read about the heat dome? It's extremely hot.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, I feel like everyone else that does not live on the West Coast is like, oh, surprise, surprise, the West Coast gets hot, but not like this. Not at this time of year.

Will Butler:

Don't worry, everyone, we're not seguing into global warming memes yet. Today we're just here to give you a little bit of relief. Caroline, you want to tell the good people where we're taking them today?

Caroline Desrosiers:

We're taking everyone to the beach, because I feel like it's either going to the movies or going to the beach during hot times like this, and we can't really go to the movies or at least feel good about that. So that's what we're doing, we're doing beach day memes.

Will Butler:

What is your favorite beach, Caroline?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Good question. Well, I'm from Southern California and we always used to go out to Huntington Beach, so I feel like I'm partial to Huntington Beach. They have really massive waves and a long beach you can just walk down, ride your bike. What about you?

Will Butler:

Well, I'm from Northern California, so we got the rocky, craggy cliffs of Bodega Bay, which really makes me nostalgic for the beach.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, yeah, that is nice. Yeah, you growing up in Nor Cal, it's like a different... I feel like we swap places. It's a different beach experience, right? Like it's windy and cold and it's kind of a struggle?

Will Butler:

Yeah. Yep, it's definitely a struggle beach. Caroline, these beach memes run the gamut across a whole bunch of different topics. You wouldn't even think that beach memes would be a thing, but you found quite a few, didn't you?

Caroline Desrosiers:

I did, yeah. It was not hard, unlike last week.

Will Butler:

What are some trends you see?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. So there's some different topics that come up. You've got a lot of people I feel like right now maybe having anxiety about their beach body, so there are a lot about that, like not being beach ready. And then it's just some other things about like the aftermath, right, of what happens after the beach.

Will Butler:

Yeah, maybe a little basic, but folks, the beach is like a place where people... That everyone can bond over, at least unless you live in the Midwest and you've never seen the ocean. But for those of you who are out there, maybe we'll teach you something new today.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

All right, beach memes. Let's do it.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Here we go. So first up, let's talk about something I personally can't do very well. How is your skin with tanning, Will?

Will Butler:

Yeah, it's always been a pain point. You know, we all dream of that perfect tan, but I never have quite achieved it.

Caroline Desrosiers:

I'm not that way either. I feel like I burn immediately upon leaving the door. I don't know about you, but I'm like that person that has a long sleeve shirt, a hat, an umbrella, sunscreen, like everything's coming to the beach with me if I'm going.

Will Butler:

Oh, yeah. Yup.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, so this first one is all about a strange thing that can happen to our skin in the sun, and I have to say this one is a little bit gross. I'm just going to warn everyone. But it's also strangely fascinating at the same time. It's been keeping me thinking all week.

Will Butler:

Is this the label meme?

Caroline Desrosiers:

It is. Good call out, yeah. It's a label meme. Picture a man's... Like a closeup on a man's neck and shoulder area, and there's like this gradient of color that starts at the collar of his white t-shirt and then it progresses towards his neck. So that color gradient begins with this very pale skin that is clearly been untouched by the sun at that point. That's labeled vanilla. Next to vanilla there's this stripe of bright pink and it's a sunburn, like a really bad sunburn, and that's labeled strawberry. And then next to that, the skin on his neck and right next to the sunburned stripe is a brown color and it's labeled chocolate. So there are a bunch of labels, and then the text at the bottom reads Neapolitan.

Will Butler:

When you pull up this meme, it's actually pretty disturbing, because his neck is... He looks like he can achieve a pretty good tan, but then his back is so white. But this stripe of red reminds you that the skin is getting damaged.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yes, yes. So to me, this one is about all of the different shirts that you wear throughout summer that would have a different neck line and give you this color gradient, like depending on if you burned that day. You know, it's like your shirt you usually wear. I don't know, like this is how he must've achieved this, just wearing different shirts.

Will Butler:

Yeah, this is what happened when Tony switched from his favorite muscle tee to his tank top on Saturday, and then an extra one-eighth inch of skin was exposed.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, exactly.

Will Butler:

Creating the Neapolitan. Wow.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Exactly. Yeah, this is not a delicious look at all. It's kind of gross.

Will Butler:

Wow, wow. Amazing. Okay. What else have we got here?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Okay. So I feel like one of the things about going to the beach are the different people there, right? People are bringing different ways to enjoy a day at the beach, and we've all seen that guy with the metal detector, right?

Will Butler:

Oh, yes. Yes. It's classic. For those who haven't seen that guy with the metal detector, can we give folks just a brief background?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. So let's paint this picture. Everyone's on their beach towels, everyone's hanging out, maybe playing volleyball or chatting, running in the waves. And then you've just got this guy walking down the beach with all this equipment, waving a metal detector over the sand.

Will Butler:

Yeah, if you didn't know what he was doing, you might think he's vacuuming the beach.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yes, exactly. Yeah. And he's looking for people who maybe have dropped some nice jewelry or... It's a lot of work. That's what I think when I see someone like that.

Will Butler:

Yeah. It's really the only place you see metal detectors anywhere in the world, other than like the airport, is the beach.

Caroline Desrosiers:

True.

Will Butler:

It's a very strange thing. Okay, so what is this meme saying?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, so the image is two men smiling and posing on a sandy beach, and they are just completely decked out in full metal detection gear. One of the guys has very short shorts on and just... It must be like five or six shoulder bags, just all around him, and he's holding out the metal detector in front. And his buddy is wearing headphones and has his metal detector propped up on a hip, and he's throwing a thumbs up at the camera, so they're clearly both very proud of this work they're doing.

Will Butler:

Wow.

Caroline Desrosiers:

And the punchline is spend thousands of dollars on equipment, make about $1.66 a day.

Will Butler:

These guys really do look like they're on a production shoot, or they're in the military or something.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, that's a good way to describe it. Yeah, they really are like gearheads, I feel like.

Will Butler:

Yeah. Yeah, they're geared up, and they probably found a couple of quarters today or something like that.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Right, yeah. I mean, they're happy about what they found. That's enough. That's all they need.

Will Butler:

Yeah. What is the psychology that makes you into a metal detector guy?

Caroline Desrosiers:

God, I don't know.

Will Butler:

Anyway, so what other beach memes have we got?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Okay, so I feel like this is another reality of going to the beach for some people. Do you ever feel a little on edge floating around in the ocean?

Will Butler:

Oh, I don't float around in the ocean.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Okay, okay. Well, a lot of people do.

Will Butler:

That's beyond the edge for me. That's past the edge.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Past the edge, yeah. But yeah, I feel like a lot of people do, like there are a lot of anxious beach goers out there. You know, just this knowledge that there are some frightening creatures swimming around out there. So this meme is about that. And it's a photo taken from the vantage point just above the water, right, so it actually feels like you're kind of bobbing there at the surface. And the ocean is very calm. There are a few rock formations scattered around, and then the head of a great white shark is merging from the water and you just see his nose and a wide open mouth pointed up. It looks to me like it's screaming at the sky, barely keeping its head above water, right? So it's a fantastic image, actually. And the punchline is when a piece of seaweed touches your leg.

Will Butler:

Yeah. It's like a dramatic shark shot.

Caroline Desrosiers:

It is. I love the drama in this meme.

Will Butler:

Yeah. That's why I don't float. It's like even if it's not a shark, how about a stinging jellyfish or a stingray or anything that might sting you? I don't know, I don't understand how people have the courage to just go out into this massive... I have too much respect for the ocean to go and float around in it like some casual little fish. I don't get it.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, it's anything that touches you in the water, right? Definitely seaweed, yeah, because it's slimy and it can take you off guard, but even like a piece of trash or something. You're like, "What is that?" It's just too much. Yeah.

Will Butler:

Yeah. We've all been there.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yep.

Will Butler:

Yeah. What else happens at the beach?

Caroline Desrosiers:

We have one more. This meme is to me about that experience we talked about earlier, getting that beach body, right? I don't know, do you feel like you are motivated by summer coming up and getting in shape for the beach? Or are you just at peace with wherever you're at when summer rolls around?

Will Butler:

Oh, yeah, both.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. It's whatever.

Will Butler:

Every single year, you look at the calendar around like April, May, and you're like, "Oh, you know what? I've got just enough time to really work on myself and not have the body that other people want, but the body that I want for this summer." And then you look at the calendar again and it's mid-July and you're like, "Oh, God."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. Then comes acceptance or regret.

Will Butler:

The stages of a loss. What is it?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Grief, yeah.

Will Butler:

Denial. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think we all experience that every year if you live near even a swimming pool. You know?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. So I'm not even going to introduce this one beyond that, because it's a bit bizarre and I want to save it for the description. So this is three men on a beach pulling a black and white dairy cow out of the ocean using a leash and bridle. And one man has a wetsuit, is pushing the cow's rear end forward, and the others are pulling, and the cow seems to be resisting a little bit, like bracing its leg and pulling its head back. But essentially, they're pulling this cow out of the water. And the punchline is when the squad drags you to the beach and your summer body isn't ready.

Will Butler:

Oh, no.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Ah.

Will Butler:

Poor cow. What was the cow doing in the ocean?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. So I had to look that up because I didn't know cows went in the ocean, and turns out if they live near the coast, they do.

Will Butler:

What?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, they'll go chill in the water for a bit because they're hot or something. And some do it on a daily basis, like they'll go down to the water. So I guess these guys are pulling a cow out of the ocean that doesn't want to leave. But yeah, pretty wild. I didn't know that.

Will Butler:

Wow. Yeah, I grew up near a lot of dairy cows and near the ocean. Never witnessed that. That's incredible. That's really cute, though, that cows just go in, like wade into the ocean, chill out.

Caroline Desrosiers:

I know.

Will Butler:

As they should, right?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, I know. And when you know how when you're Googling things, you just end up finding really fun facts? I came across this story in Googling can cows swim the ocean, of back in 2019, there was this hurricane off the coast of North Carolina, and three cows were in this horrific hurricane and there was a total flood, right? And they were found on the next island five miles away, just grazing.

Will Butler:

What?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

They were carried that far?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yes. And they swam. They must have swam the distance to get there. It's the only explanation.

Will Butler:

Wow. Well, I did not expect to learn all these facts about cows in our beach episode. That's incredible. And I think it's a great one to end on, because even if you don't have the beach body you want, you should... Just like this cute little dairy cow, you should be able to have your fun in the sun.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Totally.

Will Butler:

And to hell with everybody else.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Well said.

Will Butler:

Squad and all. You know? Beautiful. Well, thank you, Caroline. As always, these are some choice memes. And if folks want to be a part of our show, they can send memes or ideas to hello@saymymeme.com. We love hearing from folks. Caroline, I hope you have a great week.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, you too. Cheers.

Will Butler:

Say My Meme is officially back for season two. And if you want to be a part of Say My Meme, send an email to hello@saymymeme.com.

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