![Thingken of Life Thingken of Life](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/square/000/014/974/zY9jt.png)
Thingken of Life
About
"Thingken of Life" is a phrase associated with a close-up selfie of a teary-eyed teenager found on Facebook and subsequently spread on Tumblr, where it became a subject of mockeries and parodies for its cringeworthy quality. In the original Facebook post, when asked by a friend why he was upset, the boy responded "thingken of life."
Origin
The photograph and his comment on Facebook were first brought to attention by Tumblr user fcukyeah[1] on January 16th, 2011. In just over three years, the post garnered more than 16,000 notes.
![5a2.png :[ Alyssa Parks Why January 6 at 2:44pm . Flag were you crying Francisco Sierra thingken of life January 6 at 2:45pm Flag](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/755/5a2.png)
Alyssa Parks: Why were you crying :[?
Francisco Sierra: thingken of life
Spread
Over the years, the Tumblr post has spawned numerous parodies in which various fan drawings of fictional characters are shown in tears and overlaid with a Facebook-style conversation based on the snowclone "Thingken of X." Perhaps the most well-known iteration is a parody illustration of Sonic the Hedgehog shedding tears while "thingken of fast" (a reference to Gotta Go Fast), which was posted on 4chan /v/ (video games) board on August 16th, 2012.
![6b8.png Knuckles the Echid naenrynaeyiRI 41yitg :l? January 6th at 2:44pm Flag Sonic the Hedgehog thingken of fast January 6th at 2:45pm Flag](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/756/6b8.png)
On January 21st, 2013, the Facebook selfie was submitted to FunnyJunk by user xxxcodsniperproxxx, and on March 16th, the same image made its way onto Reddit in an /r/cringe post[3] submitted by Redditor Superbuza. Throughout 2013, more fan art parodies continued to surface on DeviantART, Derpibooru and Tumblr, many of them featuring fictional characters from a variety of media franchises, including My Little Pony, Dark Souls, as well as some Internet personalities and character memes.
![aa4.png Pinkie Pe why were you crying :? Tonuory 6th ot 2:49pm Flog Applejack thingken oPopple](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/789/aa4.png)
![Thingken of souls Gwynevere Why were you crying? Like Reply a few seconds ago Chosen Undead Thinken of souls Like Reply a few seconds ago](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/763/0f8.jpg)
Notable Examples
![d6d.png Wojak Why were you crying 1? January 6 at 2:4-4pm Flag Pepe thingken of no gf January 6 at 2:45pm Flag , wojak I know that feel, bro. January 6 at 2:46pm Flag](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/757/d6d.png)
![4ca.png Clefable January 6th at 2:44pm F-- Blissey thingken of balk January 6th at 2:45pm Flag](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/759/4ca.png)
![Ech Arin Hanson Why were you crying January 6th at 2:44pm F-- Jon Jafari thingken of ech anuary 6th at 2:45pm F--](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/760/431.jpg)
![4c7.png Simon Blackquill Why were you crying, Fool Bright. 10 minutes ago Like Bobby Fulbright thingken of justice 9 minutes ago Like](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/846/4c7.png)
![9d7.jpg Crag the Hackhog Why were you crying? January 6th at 2:44pm Flag Sandro the Necrohog Thingken of skeletons January 6th at 2:45pm Flag](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/766/9d7.jpg)
![805.jpg](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/706/761/805.jpg)
External References
[1] Tumblr – Original Tumblr Post
[2] Foolz – thingken of fast
[3] Reddit – "Thingken of Life"
[4] FunnyJunk – thingken of life
[6] DeviantART – Tagged Results for Thingken
[7] Derpibooru – Tagged Results for Thingken
[8] Tumblr – Tagged Results for Thingken
Top Comments
StupidGalaxy
Feb 26, 2014 at 03:00PM EST
CommanderTroll65
Feb 26, 2014 at 06:18PM EST