Chuck Norris facts

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Chuck Norris facts are satirical factoids about martial artist and actor Chuck Norris that have become an Internet phenomenon and as a result have become widespread in popular culture. The facts are normally absurd hyperbolic claims about Norris's toughness, attitude, virility, sophistication, and masculinity. Some of the most famous examples include:

• "When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn't get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris."^[1][2][3][4]
• "When Chuck Norris does pushups, he doesn't lift himself up. He pushes the world down."^[5][6][7][8]
• "Chuck Norris's tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries. Ever."^{[9][10][11][12]}
• "If Chuck Norris is late, time better slow down."^{[13][14][15][16]}

The facts typically claim that Chuck Norris is a tough, all-powerful super-being. Chuck Norris facts have spread around the world, leading not only to translated versions, but also spawning localized versions mentioning country-specific advertisements and other Internet phenomena. Allusions are also sometimes made to his use of roundhouse kicks to perform seemingly any task, his large amount of body hair with specific regard to his beard, and his role in the action television series Walker, Texas Ranger.

Background

Chuck Norris Facts originally started appearing on the Internet in early 2005. Conan O'Brien's Chuck Norris jokes on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (which generally center on Walker, Texas Ranger) have been seen as an inspiration for the fad. Chuck Norris Facts followed facts based on actors Vin Diesel, Mr. T, and Bob Saget. The exaggerated style of these facts is similar to a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch called "Bill Brasky". These are similar to tall tales such as those of Paul Bunyan. Chuck Norris Facts surged into the gaming community shortly after a Chuck Norris Fact generator was introduced as a World of Warcraft add-on in early 2006.^[17] The topic itself is most popular in the Barrens area of the game, an area that the majority of players affiliated with the Horde faction go through in order to progress in the game. Often the mere mention of Chuck Norris in the game, especially in the Barrens area will cause players present to begin quoting random Chuck Norris facts, both from websites, and ones devised by the players themselves.

Norris's response

Chuck Norris responded to the Chuck Norris Facts on his official website, chucknorris.com, with a statement. He was generally surprised and flattered by the attention. Admitting some of the statements were indeed humorous, he tries not to take any of them seriously, and he hopes that such statements will interest people in real facts about Chuck Norris contained in his literary works. ^[18] On October 23, 2006, Chuck Norris' first column for WorldNetDaily consisted of yet another response. It began similarly to the above quote from chucknorris.com, but then disclaimed Norris' own prowess in favor of God and Jesus Christ.

One of the satirical facts made of Norris states that "There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live". Upon hearing this, Norris replied:

Norris appeared in a 2007 commercial for Mountain Dew where he had his revenge on the two fictional webmasters of a popular site that featured Norris in a humorous style similar to that of the Chuck Norris Facts meme.^[20]

On November 29, 2007, Gotham Books, the adult division of Penguin USA, released a book entitled The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World's Greatest Human.^[21] Norris subsequently filed suit in December against Penguin USA claiming "trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights".^[22]

Prominent mentions

• Norris has appeared on The Tony Danza Show and The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and has been questioned regarding the satirical facts. In the latter show, he read up the current Top 10 facts, as well as mentioning his favorite one was "They once tried to carve Chuck Norris' face into Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn't hard enough for his beard".
• In the March 20, 2006 issue, TIME magazine interviewed Chuck Norris, calling him an "online cult hero." In the answer to their last question, he called the Chuck Norris Facts "weird but wildly popular sayings" and quoted one: "Chuck Norris can divide by zero."^[23]
• On an episode of The Daily Show in a parody of Alaskan senator Ted Stevens' comments about the Internet being a "Series of tubes," John Hodgman stated that beneath every American home there were indeed a series of tubes and they could be used to send various pieces of information, mainly Chuck Norris Facts.
• On "Boys Do Cry," a 2007 episode of Family Guy, Peter Griffin mentions a Chuck Norris Fact that, when challenged by Brian, turns out to be true when Chuck Norris suddenly appears and punches him with a fist concealed under his beard.
• Chuck Norris plays a prominent role in the internet meme "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny."
• One of GaiaOnline's February 2006 'monthly collectibles' is presumably named after Chuck Norris. The Item itself has an allusive name (Chyaku Norisu) and its description resembles one of the Facts: "There are only two things in the world that can cut diamonds ... other diamonds and CHYAKU NORISU!!"
• Internet writer and author Maddox dedicated an entire chapter of his bestseller The Alphabet of Manliness to Chuck Norris facts.
• Governor Mike Huckabee, as a 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate, made a campaign video with Chuck Norris called HuckChuckFacts^[24]. In it, he tells Chuck Norris facts, while Norris responds with endorsements of Huckabee. Rival Republican candidate Mitt Romney responded with a Chuck Norris Fact-themed advertisement of his own.^[25]

Spin-off jokes

This article may contain excessive, poor or irrelevant examples. You can improve the article by adding more descriptive text. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. (August 2009)

Following the popularity of Chuck Norris facts, other celebrities have become the target of similar jokes, such as Linux kernel hacker and creator Linus Torvalds, Kevin Federline,^[26] Ron Paul,^[27] Mr. T,^[28] Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders,^[29] Bruce Schneier,^[30] Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow,^[31] professional Magic: The Gathering player Jon Finkel,^[32] Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels,^[33] Cambridge astrophysicist Dave Green,^[34] actor Bruce Campbell,^[35] Bill Nye^[36] Olympics swimming champion Michael Phelps,^[37] Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi,^[38], Maccabi Tel-Aviv football player Dor Malul,^[39] and mathematician Paul Erdős.^[40]

This idea has also been spoofed in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "CNR" (about Charles Nelson Reilly). The video for this song even briefly shows an image of Chuck Norris's head in the background.

These jokes have also been extended to fictional characters, such as the television series 24 character Jack Bauer,^[41] Batman,^[42] World of Warcraft character High Overlord Saurfang,^[43] and Captain Falcon from the F-Zero games.^[44]

See also

• Bill Brasky
• Texts From Last Night

References

External links

• Chuck Norris Facts
• A Washington Post article on Chuck Norris Facts