The WaterGuy12 meme originated in August 2017 when Reddit user /u/WaterGuy12 posted on the subreddit /r/me_irl, announcing he would be away from the internet and asking users to tag him in any 'good memes' so he wouldn't miss out. The community responded with unprecedented enthusiasm, tagging him in nearly every single post for days. Upon his return, he was met with over 100,000 notifications, instantly turning him into a site-wide legend. The meme is often represented by the water splash emoji or blue-themed imagery and is used to reference overwhelming notifications, internet absence, or the power of a community to turn a simple request into a viral movement.