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posted by Fnord666 on Monday February 22 2021, @11:41PM   Printer-friendly
from the Shibe dept.

Dogecoin: Inside the joke cryptocurrency that somehow became real:

It is June 22, 2014. Jackson Palmer, a self-identified "average geek," is high in the stands at a Nascar race at the Sonoma Raceway in California. He is an Australian man in his 20s. He has zero interest in racing. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine it would come to this.

He surveys the scene.

Below him: a tremendous crowd. The overwhelming blare of engines. Hurtling round at tremendous speeds: the #98 Moonrocket, a high-performance racing car. No different from the other cars on the track, except for one crucial detail.

On the bonnet of the car: a dog. A Shiba Inu, more commonly known as a "Shibe," the dog made famous in the Doge meme that was popular in 2013.

Emblazoned on top: the word "DOGECOIN" in all caps. Below: "digital currency".

Palmer describes the situation using words like "crazy," "surreal" and "nuts." He remembers this moment as a "reality check." Dogecoin was a tweet, then it was a cryptocurrency worth money in the real world. Six months later, he watched as a joke that he'd made in passing somehow manifested itself into something tangible. A Dogecar in full flight.

It reminded Palmer how insane the world could be.

This is the story of Dogecoin, the joke that became too real for its own good.


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Eratosthenes on Monday February 22 2021, @11:54PM (9 children)

    by Eratosthenes (13959) on Monday February 22 2021, @11:54PM (#1116248) Journal

    Six months later, he watched as a joke that he'd made in passing somehow manifested itself into something tangible.

    Funny, exact same thing happened to Donald J. Trump! But then came the great BitCoin crash of 2021. Seems there was a typo in the Mayan Calendar, it never was 2012, the last two digits got switched!

    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday February 23 2021, @12:27AM (7 children)

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @12:27AM (#1116258) Homepage

      Oh noes, somebody made the Jews look stupid! Time for a lifetime grudge, poisoning the well (if you will) of his public opinion, and when Trump dies he will be accused of six-million COVID-19 deaths!

      Psssst. Hey, Jews, I know you run the media and everything, but can you go back to good comedy writing and stuff? The non-Jews are starting to get sick of you like Soylent News is getting sick of me, except that unlike you I can still say something witty once in awhile.

      • (Score: 1) by istartedi on Tuesday February 23 2021, @12:40AM (5 children)

        by istartedi (123) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @12:40AM (#1116262) Journal

        I don't know when parent will be banned, but I suspect it will look something like this. [youtube.com]

        --
        Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:05AM (4 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:05AM (#1116264)

          I was kinda hoping cancer would take him (it?) away, but I guess that would work.

          • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:48AM (3 children)

            by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:48AM (#1116276) Homepage

            Sooner you than I, inbred Jew. Even with the advantage of your harvesting organs from your Eastern European prostitutes, the world still hates you much much more than it hates me. Jews had to create and legislate a whole fantasyland to pretend that the rest of the world doesn't hate them, they are that insufferable.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @06:50AM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @06:50AM (#1116346)

              I thought it was going to be long-term unemployment (what, 7-8 months now?) and alcohol poisoning, and generally anti-social behavior. Give it a while.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:36PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:36PM (#1116484)

                Much more likely is that his family moves him to an assisted living facility. Hopefully one without internet access.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @08:46AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @08:46AM (#1116365)

              Sorry to hear about your penis. Heheheh! They can fix that. Just think! You could be a man. Sort of.

      • (Score: 2) by Tork on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:10AM

        by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:10AM (#1116300)
        Is it wrong that I'm tempted to write down when you make nonsensical posts like these and see if I can spot a pattern that correlates to refills on your medication?
        --
        🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:57AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:57AM (#1116278)

      Folly of youth, thinking many great opportunities will come your way. No, they are once or twice a lifetime, if you stumble upon a winner, you run with it.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by krishnoid on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:15AM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:15AM (#1116266)

    Don't discount the power of branding [sciencedaily.com] in this case.

  • (Score: 2) by boltronics on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:43AM

    by boltronics (580) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:43AM (#1116291) Homepage Journal

    This reminds me of the story of Flask micro framework (originally called Denied), which started out as an April Fool's joke some years prior.

    https://medium.com/better-programming/how-your-favorite-libraries-and-frameworks-got-their-names-2a4c4f805cda [medium.com]

    --
    It's GNU/Linux dammit!
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:02AM

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:02AM (#1116298)

    Dogecoin: Inside the joke cryptocurrency that somehow became real

    You misspelled Bitcoin there.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:40PM (#1116486)

    The Bill Of Rights was written as a joke, too. Somehow it was taken seriously by a lot of people. That's okay... nobody's paying any attention to it anymore.

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