GagBase Logo Explore

When Physics Jokes Hurt: High Frequency Slaps

A meme featuring a vintage black-and-white photograph of a bearded man in formal attire. The top text reads: 'What happens if someone... slaps you at high frequency...?' and the bottom yellow text delivers the punchline: 'It Hertz'. The joke relies on a pun where 'Hertz' (the SI unit of frequency, abbreviated Hz) sounds like 'hurts', creating a humorous physics-related wordplay.
Make

Text content

What happens if someone... slaps you at high frequency...? It Hertz

Overview

A meme featuring a vintage black-and-white photograph of a bearded man in formal attire. The top text reads: 'What happens if someone... slaps you at high frequency...?' and the bottom yellow text delivers the punchline: 'It Hertz'. The joke relies on a pun where 'Hertz' (the SI unit of frequency, abbreviated Hz) sounds like 'hurts', creating a humorous physics-related wordplay.

Origin notes

The meme originates from Reddit, specifically within meme communities. It uses a historical/vintage photograph (likely public domain) edited with overlaid text to construct the pun. The image editing method involves adding text to the top and bottom of the photograph to set up the question and deliver the punchline.

Similar memes

This is a single panel black and white meme featuring a historical portrait of quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger, creator of the famous Schrödinger's Cat thought experiment. Yellow overlaid text at the top reads 'The straight of Hormuz', while text at the bottom reads 'is both open and closed'. The core joke references the quantum superposition concept from Schrödinger's experiment, where an object can exist in two states simultaneously until observed, applied to the geopolitically volatile Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, which frequently has conflicting public reports about whether it is open or closed to traffic. The original post title 'The cat didn't make it' adds an extra humorous layer referencing the cat that was the subject of the original Schrödinger's Cat experiment, implying the cat is no longer part of the joke premise.

The Strait of Hormuz is Both Open and Closed Schrödinger Meme

This is a single panel black …

This is a two-panel comparative meme. The top panel features a sepia portrait of inventor Nikola Tesla, paired with the label 'Guy who made the joke', representing the person who originally comes up with a funny comment in a group setting. The bottom panel features a sepia photo of inventor Thomas Edison holding an incandescent lightbulb, paired with the label 'Guy who said it louder infront of the whole class', representing the person who repeats the original joke at a higher volume to get credit and laughs from the larger group. The joke relies on the common popular historical anecdote that Edison took public credit for invention work originally done by Tesla, drawing a direct parallel to the relatable social experience of having your joke appropriated by someone who repeats it louder to get recognition.

Guy who made the joke vs guy who repeats it louder meme

This is a two-panel comparati…

This is a three-panel horizontal split meme. The left column features the classic painted portrait of renowned 18th/19th century classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who is widely known for experiencing total hearing loss later in his career. The right column of the first two panels shows a large, enthusiastic crowd of concertgoers cheering and raising their hands. In the first panel, text overlaid on Beethoven's portrait reads 'WHO WANTS TO HEAR A SYMPHONY!?', paired with the cheering crowd. In the second panel, Beethoven repeats the question with the added line 'I SAID' at the start, while the crowd remains just as loud and animated. The third panel is a close-up of Beethoven's stern face, with the punchline text 'I CAN'T HEAR YOU!' overlaid, alongside a muted speaker icon at the bottom right. The joke relies on the well-documented fact of Beethoven's deafness, subverting the common trope of a performer teasing a crowd to cheer louder, as the reason he cannot hear their enthusiastic response is his own hearing impairment.

Beethoven Asks Crowd For Symphony Deaf Joke Meme

This is a three-panel horizon…

This is a 3-panel comparative meme using the popular "Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny" format to illustrate the escalating severity of an accidental mistake depending on the profession of the person saying "oops". The first panel shows a normal, brightly colored, relaxed smiling Mr. Incredible paired with the text "saying 'oops' as a Teacher", representing low-stakes minor mistakes with negligible consequences. The second panel shows a desaturated, unsettling uncanny version of Mr. Incredible paired with "saying 'oops' as a Surgeon", representing significantly higher-stakes mistakes that can cause serious harm to patients. The third panel shows an extremely dark, distorted, almost unrecognizable version of Mr. Incredible paired with "saying 'oops' as a Nuclear Physicist", representing catastrophic, potentially civilization-ending mistakes with massive, far-reaching consequences. The humor derives from the exponential increase in implied severity matched to the progressively more disturbing visual of the character.

Saying 'oops' gets exponentially more serious across different professions

This is a 3-panel comparative…

A meme consisting of two main parts: a top text section with the mathematical equation '6×9+6+9=69' and a bottom section featuring a screenshot of a person with a surprised or amazed expression. Below the image is a subtitle reading 'We're hitting niceness levels that shouldn't even be possible.' The equation humorously calculates to 69, a number often associated with a playful or suggestive connotation, while the reaction image emphasizes exaggerated amazement at this 'niceness level.'

6×9+6+9=69 - Hitting Niceness Levels Meme

A meme consisting of two main…

This is a meme that jokes about the 2022 Academy Awards incident where Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock after Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith's wife. The meme uses the classic 'Chuck Norris fact' format: hyperbolic jokes that lean into the long-running internet trope that Chuck Norris is extremely tough and intimidating, and everyone fears upsetting him. The top text reads 'When Chuck Norris tells a joke about Will Smiths wife......Will Smith stands up and slaps his wife.' The image below is a photo of Chuck Norris holding a microphone on stage. The joke twists the original incident: instead of Will Smith slapping the comedian who told the joke, he slaps his own wife to avoid angering the fearsome Chuck Norris, which is the absurd punchline fitting the Chuck Norris fact meme style.

As it should have been

This is a meme that jokes abo…

A meme consisting of two parts: top text and an image. The top text reads: 'Someone: Whatever happens, happens. *Whatever happens. That someone:'. Below this text is a close-up image of Thanos, a purple-skinned character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, wearing armor with a shocked expression. At the bottom of the image is the word 'Impossible'. The humor arises from the contrast between the initial dismissive phrase 'Whatever happens, happens' (indicating nonchalance) and Thanos's shocked reaction labeled 'Impossible', implying the person's confidence is shattered when an unexpected event occurs.

It happens, actually

A meme consisting of two part…

This meme combines a sci-fi themed scenario with a reaction image from the US sitcom *The Office*. The top text describes a frustrating, absurd situation: a person spends 3000 years in hypersleep traveling to a distant star, only to wake up and find that humanity invented a far faster spaceship just 50 years after they left, resulting in a full human civilization already established at the destination. Below the text is a screenshot of Jim Halpert (portrayed by John Krasinski) making a strained, tight-lipped disappointed smile, which perfectly conveys the feelings of wasted effort, letdown, and the absurdity of being completely outpaced by technological progress. The joke leans into common sci-fi tropes of interstellar travel and hypersleep, using the relatable reaction image to amplify the comedic irony of the scenario.

3000 Year Hypersleep Wasted by Faster Spaceship Reaction Meme

This meme combines a sci-fi t…

A meme consisting of two parts: top text reading 'When Chuck Norris tells a joke about Will Smiths wife......Will Smith stands up and slaps his wife.' and a lower photograph of Chuck Norris, a real-life actor, holding a black microphone in his right hand, standing against a dark background, appearing to speak. The joke satirically references the 2022 Oscars incident where Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Chuck Norris Tells a Joke About Will Smith's Wife

A meme consisting of two part…

This meme features a short three-part dialogue followed by a popular reaction image. The first line is a science teacher asking a student if they know Newton's second law, a core physics principle. The student replies that they are a science student, not a law student, misinterpreting the word 'law' in the scientific term to mean legal law studied by law school students. The final line labels the following reaction image as the science teacher's response: a distorted, widely used meme edit of Lord Farquaad from the Shrek franchise, staring with an unimpressed, baffled, annoyed expression at the student. The humor comes entirely from the pun on the double meaning of the word 'law' and the relatable experience of students giving silly or wrong answers in class.

Student Confuses Newton's Second Law For Legal Law

This meme features a short th…

A two-panel meme featuring an older man sitting on a beige couch. The top text reads 'When your sugar daddy falls asleep'. In the left panel, the man has his eyes closed, appearing asleep, with a hand (likely from another person) gently touching his neck. In the right panel, the same man has his eyes wide open, looking alert and surprised, with the same hand still touching his neck. The contrast between his asleep (left) and awake (right) states creates a humorous implication of the sugar daddy waking up suddenly when interacted with.

When Your Sugar Daddy Falls Asleep

A two-panel meme featuring an…

This is a single-panel reaction meme. The top of the image has text that reads 'math teachers when they can no longer use the ol' reliable "You won't always have a calculator in your pocket" response'. Below the text is a widely circulated reaction photo of Will Smith looking dejected, tired, and at a loss for words. The joke references the common long-time trope of K-12 math teachers justifying bans on calculator use during class by telling students they will not have access to a calculator at all times as adults, which is now obsolete because nearly all adults carry a smartphone with a built-in calculator in their pocket at all times, leaving math teachers without their classic go-to argument.

Math teachers lost when they can't use the 'you won't have a calculator in your pocket' excuse

This is a single-panel reacti…