The Crying Seal meme, famously accompanied by the caption 'He was forced to eat cement when he was 6,' features a taxidermy seal with exaggeratedly large, watery eyes that evoke a sense of deep, tragic sadness. While the image itself originates from a poorly preserved specimen, it gained viral fame as a pinnacle of 'shitposting' and surreal humor. The nonsensical backstory regarding the consumption of cement added a layer of dark, absurdist irony that resonated with internet subcultures. It is primarily used to represent extreme emotional distress in a satirical context, often paired with bizarre or impossible reasons for the character's sorrow, making it a staple of weird internet humor.