Who doesn’t occasionally think back on simpler times or about a restaurant or store we used to frequent which is no longer in business?
Twitter user @DarnelSugarfoo certainly does.
They took nostalgia to a whole new and truly bizarre level.
A tweet they posted on December 2 would go on to become an unexpected viral sensation.
A "7-Eleven" in 1973.
We used to be a country. A proper country. pic.twitter.com/OGoPh2mdh8
— Rosie's Omicron Dance Party (@DarnelSugarfoo) December 2, 2021
The tweet featured an image of a woman at a 7-Eleven store in the 1970s, with a simple description in the caption.
"A 7-Eleven in 1973"
"We used to be a country. A Proper country."
The message and intent of the post was ambiguous and rather confusing.
It could very well have simply been a reverie to remember simpler, happier times prior to the pandemic.
But the prominent placement of #MAGA (make America great again) and #KAG (keep America great) in @DarnelSugarfoo's Twitter profile, not to mention their current Twitter name, Rosie's Omicron Dance Party, and abundant pro-Trump/anti-Biden posts, suggested it was likely a statement against mask and vaccine mandates.
Whether confused or amused by the post, Twitter users wasted no time in calling out or poking fun at @DarnelSugarfoo in the comments section.
Multiple Twitter users questioned just how much better things actually were in the 1970s, or if things have really changed as much as @DarnelSugarfoo believes they have.
I assure you, if you go into a 7/11 right now you can buy a cup of coffee from a man with a receding hairline just as easily as they did in 1973 https://t.co/Oz5asff8c4
— JoeLongBalls (@JoeLongBalls) December 3, 2021
return to the tradition of everything looking and smelling like cigarettes
— Dr. Christmas Penis (@Ready_4_Bed) December 3, 2021
The women in this picture couldn’t get a credit card in their own name. https://t.co/IiqKYAMKyz
— Arielle Dundas (@ArielleDundas) December 5, 2021
Some of the same hot dogs are still rolling around on the cooker.
— F. Casey Lea (@F_Casey_Lea) December 5, 2021
What was the marginal tax rate and inflation adjusted minimum wage when this picture was taken?
— Narrative Believer (@djamesalicious) December 4, 2021
A number of others responded with their own variations of @DarnelSugarfoo's meme, calling out how sexist, unhealthy or flat out silly life used to be by simply mocking the memes less than coherent meaning.
A typical American "office" in 1985
We used to be a country. A proper country pic.twitter.com/jFrQvO8cZh
— 𓁀 (@Absolutego13) December 3, 2021
A house in 2006.
We used to be a country. A proper country. pic.twitter.com/xNxhLPOAtT
— Tom Waits For No Man (@Chigurh_Crash) December 3, 2021
We used to be a country, a proper country pic.twitter.com/zPKMnOqV6N
— 🌹 Elmo Sunk 🌹 (@trescassmirk) December 3, 2021
A “salad” in 1958.
We used to be a country. A proper country. pic.twitter.com/OVPOJG4oxV
— jimmytwohands (@jimmy_two_hands) December 4, 2021
We used to be a country. A proper country.
🤡 pic.twitter.com/cbA7RQTrfz
— Be Kind, Please Unwind 🗽 🌍 (@theendismeh) December 4, 2021
Whatever people thought was the intended meaning of the original meme, @DarnelSugarfoo's initial tweet received over 10 thousand likes in only four days.
It was only natural more and more parodies would be on their way and they came with a vengeance, with the reveries of American nostalgia growing increasingly more biting and ludicrous with each tweet.
A McDonalds Gamecube kiosk. We used to be a country. A real country. pic.twitter.com/30dky4WdNG
— Schaffrillas (@Schaffrillas) December 7, 2021
A "Communist Party USA rally" in 1935.
We used to be a country. A proper country. pic.twitter.com/6nRXJdaiEE
— Chris (@_c_perez) December 5, 2021
We used to be a country. A proper country. pic.twitter.com/XG2hCdAz7L
— h. is drafting (92.1k) (@lipsticklits) December 6, 2021
A Little Caesars inside a KMart c.1994. We used to be a country. A real country. pic.twitter.com/SMW5ZozuXo
— 🦌Alternate Jingle-Jangle Hub 🦌 (@AltHistoryHub) December 5, 2021
we used to be a country. a proper country. pic.twitter.com/EAFNxwS7XK
— nokia ✰ (@metrorazorola) December 7, 2021
This is likely only the beginning of the variations of @DarnelSugarfoo's unexpected web sensation.