![Safety Instruction Parodies Safety Instruction Parodies](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/011/842/safety.jpg)
Safety Instruction Parodies
About
Safety Instruction Parodies, also known as Airline Safety Memes, are various illustrations and diagrams typically seen in safety instruction manuals accompanied by humorous captions that are generally subversive in nature.
Origin
The website Airtoons[1] was launched on February 21st, 1999, featuring illustrations from aircraft safety cards accompanied by humorous captions (shown below). According to the site description, the creator came up with the idea for the parodies after viewing a flight card that did not have any captions while traveling on an airline.
![6b4.png airtoons.com Licorice is conveniently stored inside floatation device for snacking.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/057/6b4.png)
![90a.png Urine sensor detects when you urinate in sea water, causing harm to sea life.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/711/90a.png)
![e67.png airtoons.com 5 In the event of an airline evacuation, style points will be given based on form and artistic impression.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/712/e67.png)
Spread
Fight Club Promotion
On October 15th, 1999, the black comedy film Fight Club[6] was released, in which the protagonist placed parody flight cards in commercial aircraft. For promotion of the film, Fox Movies[7] released images of the flight cards for download off their official website (shown below).
![Nasty Safety Instructions Take-off, Landing & During Movement Water Evacuation Oxygen Supply Land & Water Evacuation Exits Bracing Positions EXIT OPERATION ASSESS OUTSIDE CONDITIONS. IF OPENING EXIT INCREASES THE HAZARD TO PASSENGERS DO NOT OPEN. Slide Evacuation](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/581/4eb.jpg)
Homeland Security Advisory System
On March 22nd, 2002, the Bush administration unveiled the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS), a color-coded alert mechanism that would reflect the degree of terrorism threat within the U.S. territories at any given moment. Due to its ambiguous criteria, the HSAS initiative was widely panned by critics and pundits alike, eventually spawning a slew of parodies using a color-coded scale.
![bbc.jpg LOHAN SECURITY ADVISORY SYSTEM OH, S---! SEVERE HIGH ELEVATED GUARDED LOW](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/585/460/bbc.jpg)
![375.gif RIDICULOUS INCREDIBLE SCAREY CAUTIOUS SENSIBLE YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING! UNHELPFUL AND MISLEADING TERRORIST RISK ASSESSMENT EXAGGERATED RISK OF TERRORIST ATTACKS YOU CAN'T BE TOO CAREFUL! BALANCED VIEW OF TERRORIST RISK](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/585/466/375.gif)
![428.jpg HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY SYSTEM ELMD ERNIE BERT COOKIE MONSTER OSCAR](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/585/467/428.jpg)
FEMA Ready Campaign
In February of 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched Ready.gov[3] as part of a public service advertising campaign to provide information on how to prepare for national emergencies. The site provided various illustrations that were considered ambiguous by many viewers, prompting the creation of the parody site SafeNow.org,[4] which featured humorous captions alongside original illustrations from the Ready.gov website (shown below). Airtoons subsequently added different parodies of the Ready.gov images under the heading "Additional Government Safety Measures."
![139.png If you have set yourself on fire, do not run.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/672/139.png)
![b1d.png If you are trapped under falling debris, conserve oxygen by not farting](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/680/b1d.png)
On April 24th, the Titled Forum Project[2] philosophy board member Gatecrashed posted a thread titled "Parodies of Airplane Safety Brochures," which reblogged many notable examples from the Airtoons website. On December 27th, 2010, the pop culture blog Unreality Mag[5] highlighted many of the Airtoons images in a post titled "Funny in Flight Safety Cards a La Fight Club."
Gym Workout Diagrams
On September 10th, 2010, the Internet humor site College Humor[8] published a post titled "Realistic Gym Workout Diagrams," which featured parody workout posters for exercising specific muscle groups (shown below).
![Shoe ites O SEMI-PRONE SHOE TIES 2 sets of 1 repetition. Can be combined with Total Babe Look-arounds. SQUAT KNEEL 180° LOOK -AROUND REALIZE ALREADY ITIED MUSCLES USED . Legs Hands -Forearms - Back Butt (wedgie) . Feet (laces too tight)](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/879/d2f.jpg)
![Fist pump O TOTAL BABE LOOK-AROUNDS Sets of perfect 10, elastic waistband recommended LEAN INFIST PUMP DENY MUSCLES USED Cheek NNeck . Back . Heart eD ·Boner Muscle](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/874/63e.jpg)
![Ipod ISOLATED IPOD THUMB CIRCLES 75-100 full circles or until completion of "Getting Brolic" playlist TOUCH SHUFFLE PERFECT! MUSCLES USED . Neck Wrist . Thumb . Back .Ears (jams fully pumped)](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/873/4c3.jpg)
Try Not to Cry / Cry a Lot
In early 2013 edits of a particular image from the College Humor article began to circulate online. The post usually shows an emotional image or piece of text followed by the "Lie Down; Try Not to Cry; Cry a Lot" image beneath it.
![Sans LIE DOWN TRY NOT TO CRY CRY A LOT レ](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/065/239/d6e.png)
![Kill La Kill Parody FOUND OUT WHO KILLED MY TRY NOT TO LOSE MY WAY LOSE MYWAY A LOT DAD](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/726/070/b90.jpg)
![Pearl pls LIE DOWN TRY NOT TO CRY CRY A LOT](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/964/402/ba4.png)
![Conceal, Don't Feel, Let It Go Elsa](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/865/463/395.jpg)
2018 Revival
On October 9th, 2018, Redditor [9] SanpDraggen posted one of the first of several Safety instructions Parodies in the /r/me_irl subreddit. The image features a person attempting to escape an airplane mid-flight with the caption " Me when someone says my airplane safety memes will never take off." The post received more than 33,000 points (94% upvoted) and 170 comments in 24 hours.
![Me when someone says my airplane safety memes will never take off Me when someone says my airplane safety memes will never take off EXIT](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/419/505/6a3.jpg)
That day, the image was shared on the /r/dankmemes [10] subreddit, where it earned another 4,900 points (94% upvoted) and 40 comments in 24 hours. Following the posts, memes of the /r/dankmemes and /r/me_irl subreddits began using the format of recontextualized Safety Instructions for various memes (examples below).
![mmmm child juice 6 mmmm child iuice.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/419/508/83b.jpg)
![When the same person who posts rare skull memes says that air safety memes won't take off When the same person who posts rare skull memes says that air safety memes won't take off.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/419/510/600.jpg)
![People saying airplane memes won't popular People saying airplane memes won't be popular Me](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/419/511/59d.jpg)
Notable Examples
![e38.png 10 0 Do not allow the solar eclipse to distract you while treading water and eating doritos](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/733/e38.png)
![15b.png In the event of an accidental a--- gas release, masks will drop down from a little trap door in the ceiling. Kids don't get any though, because they can just suffer like the little brats that they are.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/715/15b.png)
![1c3.png airtoons.com Air Condoms are stored over-head for in-flight “quickies."](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/731/1c3.png)
![Try not to cry O WRITHING-IN-PAIN CRIES O Just let it out, man. Let it out. LIE DOWN TRY NOT TO CRY CRY A LOT MUSCLES USED - Back (broken) Soul (crushed)](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/061/f1a.jpg)
![529.png airtoons.com ooo00000 Nerds are encouraged to get the f--- out](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/719/529.png)
![b62.jpg 2 T1 Cocaine is conveniently stored underneath your seat for in-flight snorting.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/449/056/b62.jpg)
Search Interest
Not available.
External References
[1] Airtoons – Parody Airline Safety Procedures
[2] The TFP – Parodies of Airplane Safety Brochures
[3] Ready.gov – About the Ready Campaign
[4] Safenow.org – what to do in an emergency
[5] Unreality Mag – Funny in Flight Safety Cards
[6] Wikipedia – Fight Club
[7] Wayback Machine – Fight Club
[8] College Humor – Realistic Gym Workout Diagrams
[10] Reddit – Here's my stop
Top Comments
Suspended
Dec 03, 2012 at 04:10PM EST
Necro910: That Krieger Dude
Dec 03, 2012 at 01:09PM EST