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Would You Be More Surprised To Find A Walrus Or A Fairy At Your Door? Tumblr's Viral Debate Explained
A fascinating debate is raging over on Tumblr right now that pits the mighty walrus against the mythical fairy. The walrus vs. fairy debate asks users if they'd be more surprised to find a walrus or a fairy at their doorstep and it's inspiring opinions and memes across the site. So, who are users siding with and why? Here's what you need to know.
What Is The 'Walrus or Fairy Debate?'
In mid-February, Tumblr user baddylonglegs posted a now-viral poll on the site describing a bizarre scenario for users to vote on. The post reads, "It is the middle of a Sunday afternoon. You have nothing on, and aren't expecting visitors, deliveries or post. Unexpectedly, there is a knock at the door," offering users two options: walrus or fairy.
The post blew up, gaining hundreds of thousands of notes in two weeks. The poll was voted on by over 165,000 users and the results might surprise you. In that span of time, just over 80% of users claimed they'd be more surprised to find the walrus at their door, despite fairies likely not even existing. As it turns out, this poll was only the beginning of what's now a raging debate and meme on Tumblr.
How Is The 'Walrus Or Fairy Debate' Used In Memes?
The viral poll has inspired a whole wave of memes, fan art and debates on Tumblr that's started leaking across social media at large. The memes attempt to visualize the debate and play off of the arguably shocking results of the poll, depicting people's reactions to finding a walrus at their door vs. a fairy. Some people are also drawing walrus-fairy hybrids thanks to the debate.
The debate also has people justifying their take on the problem and making further, more specific polls to get to the bottom of things. One poll by curiositypolling asks participants whether or not they believe in magic and fairies and if that alters their opinion on the debate. Surprisingly, the results still show that, whether the participant believes in magic or not, they'd be more shocked to find the walrus at their door.
For the full history of the walrus or fairy debate, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
