Picture this, it’s the year 2010, every iPhone 3 and iPod touch had three necessary apps: the calculator, the camera, and… Chuck Norris Facts! I could not have been the only one to consume endless streams of jokes like, “Chuck Norris can make onions cry” or “Chuck Norris counted to infinity… twice!” But how did we get from celebrity martial arts trainer to pinnacle meme of the 2010’s? Well, for that, we’ll need a little history lesson on the epic life and times of Chuck Norris…
Rise to Stardom…
Chuck Norris did not start out his career wanting to be a Hollywood actor. He actually got his start by winning martial arts competitions and training celebrities for their martial arts roles in movies and TV shows. Along the way, he would meet fellow martial arts enthusiast and world-renowned actor, Bruce Lee, who would encourage Norris to play his nemesis in his breakthrough role in Return of the Dragon. He would later go on to take acting classes and reach mainstream success starring in movies such as A Force of One and Expendables 2, as well as the lead role in the television series, Walker, Texas Ranger.
Rise to Memedom…
By the 2000’s, Chuck Norris had cemented himself as an action god in the hearts of people everywhere, but the memes wouldn’t start until a little later. Chuck Norris Facts have been credited to a guy named Ian Spector starting as early as 2005. Once an in-joke among forum frequenters and chronically online college students, the jokes on the Conan O’Brien show seem to have propelled the memes to their current fame. Dozens of Chuck Norris Facts websites and apps spread like wildfire! There have even been Chuck Norris Facts books published and endorsed by Norris himself. In light of all the internet fame, Chuck Norris commented on the jokes on his website, saying he didn’t mind them and even thought some were funny.
All in all, no one can deny the influence that Chuck Norris has had on action movies or memes. But at the end of the day, we all know, Chuck Norris didn’t die… he decided to stop existing. Rest in Peace, Chuck Norris!
Chuck Norris doesn't write books. The words assemble themselves out of fear. Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
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