The Nutty Putty Cave Incident meme refers to a cross-sectional diagram of the 2009 tragedy involving John Edward Jones, who became fatally wedged in a narrow passage of the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah. While the event was a real-life tragedy, the diagram used by news outlets to illustrate his impossible position became an internet phenomenon years later. It is frequently used as a template for dark humor or to metaphorically represent being trapped in an inescapable, self-inflicted, or increasingly claustrophobic situation. The meme often highlights the absurdity of how one can get into such a predicament, serving as a visual metaphor for life's most suffocating moments or poor decision-making.