The 'Series of Tubes' meme originated from a June 2006 speech by U.S. Senator Ted Stevens during a debate over net neutrality. While attempting to explain how the internet works, Stevens famously declared that the internet is 'not a big truck' but is actually a 'series of tubes' that can become 'clogged' with data. The technological inaccuracy of his metaphor made it an instant hit in the early days of YouTube and internet forums. It has since become a permanent fixture of internet culture, used to satirize anyone who confidently speaks about technology they clearly do not understand, or to jokingly refer to network congestion and ISP issues.