Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Linda McMahon (person) 1 — Former WWE executive appointed to oversee American education, referred to as 'the WWE chick'

Mesa (place) 1 — City referenced as a symbol of failure for young people who lose money gambling

Liam Hemsworth (person) 1 — An Australian actor referenced as an example of male attractiveness and aspirational appearance

Sonoran desert (place) 1 — Desert region encompassing Phoenix, described as the wettest desert in the world due to monsoon season

Urban heat island effect (concept) 1 — A phenomenon where concrete and pavement absorb and radiate heat, exacerbating urban temperatures

La Niña (concept) 1 — A climate cycle mentioned as contributing to extreme heat conditions in Phoenix

Maricopa county (place) 1 — Arizona county containing Phoenix, noted as the fastest growing county in the US despite climate challenges

Sputnik 1 (concept) 1 — Soviet satellite referenced in satirical discussion of voyeurism versus pornography as sources of intellectual stimulati...

Russian baths (place) 1 — Bathhouse in New York City visited by a couple on their elopement day

Havasupai tribe (concept) 1 — Native American tribe whose water source was threatened by a uranium mine approved by Biden's forestry service

Coconino aquifer (place) 1 — Water source for the Havasupai tribe threatened by uranium mining

Appalachian Kentucky (place) 1 — Region described as the poorest part of America outside of Native American reservations

Magic 8 Ball (concept) 1 — Fortune-telling toy used by friends to make all group decisions with purportedly infallible results

Jacksonville Jaguars (concept) 1 — NFL team that came back from a 27-0 playoff deficit, correctly predicted by the Magic 8 Ball

Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 16 November 1581 (film) 1 — 1885 painting by Ilya Repin depicting the Russian tsar cradling his dying son, described as heartbreaking

Grand Theft Auto (film) 1 — Video game series with a fake internet featuring parody websites, compared to post-2016 Reddit

Francesca Gino (person) 1 — Harvard Business School professor who fabricated data for research papers about when people tell the truth

Penn (place) 1 — University hospital (University of Pennsylvania) where a cousin recovered from a near-death experience after being hit b...

Shook Ones Part II (album) 1 — Hip-hop song referenced in an edit clarifying the author's age through a play on its lyrics

Emilia Perez (person) 1 — Referenced as someone whose appearance is compared to Lauren Sanchez after plastic surgery in a discussion about excessi...

Abeer Qassim Al-Janabi (person) 1 — 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was gang-raped and murdered by US soldiers in Iraq, along with her family

Newport Beach (place) 1 — Affluent California city referenced as home to wealthy parents of hypothetical politician

South Jersey (place) 1 — Region of New Jersey where user had experience accidentally picking up a prostitute

Pink Pony Club (album) 1 — Song about a female drag queen, not a stripper as some assumed

Wayback Machine (place) 1 — Internet archive tool used to examine how internet culture has degraded over time

Amazon warehouse (place) 1 — Workplace referenced in context of Reddit wartime xenophobia toward Russian-American workers

Molly Bloom (person) 1 — Character from James Joyce's Ulysses who spends an entire chapter lying in bed

HYPSM (concept) 1 — Acronym for elite universities (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT) that college applicants obsessively pursue for ...

Burundi (place) 1 — East African country whose president was allegedly shot, referenced in context of conspiracy theories about WHO oppositi...

Xin Qiji (person) 1 — Chinese poet from the Song Dynasty (1140-1207) whose poem about youth and sorrow was shared on the subreddit.

Jess Phillips (person) 1 — British Labour MP criticized for alleged class-based indifference to working-class victims of sexual abuse in Rotherham.

EBT (concept) 1 — Electronic Benefits Transfer food assistance program referenced in discussion of declining economic conditions for facto...

looksmax.org (place) 1 — Online forum focused on physical appearance optimization, referenced as representing the ugly cultural zeitgeist replaci...

Michael Cohen (person) 1 — Person whose congressional hearing was referenced in connection with Epstein allegedly messaging a Democrat Congresswoma...

Third World Internet Theory (concept) 1 — A theory proposing that as internet access expanded globally to poorer populations, the quality of online discourse decl...

Fat Girl Wojak (concept) 1 — An internet meme discussed in relation to men who engage with women they find physically repulsive, revealing a genre of...

Reddit Avatar (concept) 1 — Customizable profile images on Reddit that are used as a marker to identify users who allegedly ruin the subreddit's cul...

Save the Children (place) 1 — Organization that produced a report documenting systematic abuse, including sexual abuse, of Palestinian children in Isr...

Chris Griffin (person) 1 — Character from Family Guy used as an unflattering comparison for an overweight factory worker with messy blonde hair.

Mr. Incredible (person) 1 — Character from Pixar's The Incredibles used as a comparison for a muscular factory worker, representing positive physica...

Wreck-it-Ralph (person) 1 — Disney animated character a muscular factory worker was compared to by a coworker, part of a progression of cartoon char...

Trans Bathroom Debate (concept) 1 — A culture war issue that allegedly succeeded in distracting from workers' rights and economic issues in the 2024 electio...

Lloyd Christmas (person) 1 — Character from Dumb and Dumber, referenced as an example of classic slapstick comedy character.

Ace Ventura (person) 1 — Jim Carrey character from Ace Ventura film series, cited as example of classic slapstick comedy.

Chuang-tzu (person) 1 — Ancient Chinese philosopher quoted on dating strategy about employing the mind as a mirror.

Seed oil (concept) 1 — Cooking oil that conspiracy theorists claim was originally used as machine lubricant and is harmful to health.

QR code ordering (concept) 1 — Restaurant ordering system criticized as eliminating human interaction with waiters.

Step Brothers (film) 1 — Will Ferrell comedy cited as example of classic slapstick comedy about adult stepbrothers living together.

r/cumbiggerloads (place) 1 — Reddit subreddit dedicated to supplements for increasing ejaculate volume, subject of conspiracy theory about brand mani...

Martin Luther King Day (concept) 1 — US holiday referenced as timing context for Reddit conspiracy theory drama.