Summer is upon us, and you know what that means: Beaches, bikinis, and people fighting on the Internet about how hot the interior of a car can get in direct sunlight.
And, because the season won’t be complete until we get a handful of stories about strangers breaking windows to rescue babies or pets negligently left in these parking lot ovens, a presumably staged photo designed to inflame the masses has captured social media’s normally fragmented attention. Go ahead and take a look.
https://twitter.com/fee020/status/736410564793110528
The image’s origins remain murky. Select All reported that @fee020, a teen who claimed that the dog was named Kram and enjoyed the pop stylings of Rihanna, had made up that backstory after finding the photo elsewhere online. It didn’t much matter; the flames of hot-car controversy were fanned, and the memes began.
.@fioses at least post the unedited version pic.twitter.com/3ZvL2TZEMc
— brendan (@bseyka) June 1, 2016
But this was never destined to be a Photoshop meme. In the week since the picture blew up, people have repurposed and mocked the language of the sign, less so the specific visual.
https://twitter.com/haramkilam/status/739349709483954177
https://twitter.com/ngvhi/status/737815492925087744
https://twitter.com/brobekcs/status/739176262199975936
https://twitter.com/izzzycarrolll/status/737521982573404160
https://twitter.com/anselm__/status/739326203106971648
https://twitter.com/jcolemojis/status/739148642611781632
please do not break window. the ac is on. he has water and is listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/4ikf9fiZrW
— charlie (@slugcities) June 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/kennaban14/status/739662884163178497
https://twitter.com/DELICIOUSKEK/status/739852271991816192
*please do not break the window*!!
— elaina (@radelaina) June 6, 2016
He has water, the ac is on and he's listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/JwTknOooVj
https://twitter.com/CongaDes/status/739714193373429760
https://twitter.com/soIojinhwan/status/739665466340282369
The AC is on. He has water and is listening to his favorite music. pic.twitter.com/UPHYCaWoRT
— MUSTAFA (@MustafaSammor) June 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/ocenyan/status/739647791480217601
Please do not break the window. The AC is on. He has water and is listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/BrxNZiqohs
— dope, it is tom (@DOPEITSTOM) June 5, 2016
https://twitter.com/mustlovedongs/status/739537381087404033
https://twitter.com/Kbumm_/status/739534520978968578
So yeah, even though it may soon be legal to smash car windows to rescue pets, the next time you see a Shrek doll alone in the passenger seat, try not to panic. He’s quite comfortable and rocking out to Smash Mouth.