Michaels and Jo-Ann Craft Store Fake Origin Warcraft Pun Meme

I like to imagine that Michael & Joann were a happily married couple with plans to open the greatest arts&craft store ever. But then, things went awry after a wild night of swing-scrapbooking. They soon divorced with bad blood, each vowing to defeat each other via a Craft Empire.

This meme has three core sections: first, a block of top text lays out a fictional, silly origin story for the two largest competing North American arts and crafts retail chains, Michaels and Jo-Ann. The made-up backstory claims the chains were founded by a once happily married couple named Michael and Joann, who planned to open a shared craft store before a chaotic 'swing-scrapbooking' night caused a bitter divorce, with each ex-spouse vowing to build their own craft store empire to defeat the other. Below this text are side-by-side photos of the exterior storefront signs for a Michaels location and a Jo-Ann location. The punchline appears at the bottom as a user comment from Isaac Samuels, paired with a cartoon avatar, that reads 'Welcome to the World of War-Craft', a pun referencing the popular World of Warcraft video game franchise that nods to the fictional rivalry between the two craft chains.

This meme originates from the X.com (formerly Twitter) account @meme.jpg, distributed via RSS. It relies on widespread public familiarity with both Michaels and Jo-Ann as the dominant competing craft store chains in the United States, plus pop culture recognition of the World of Warcraft game, to land its joke. It has circulated widely across social media platforms as a lighthearted, absurd fake origin story for the two retailers.