Skip to content
PMTPMT DB

RIP Harambe

Our sweet prince. From the moment a 17-year-old gorilla was shot at the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, 2016, Harambe became the unofficial mascot of Pardon My Take. The boys rode the Harambe wave with tie-dye t-shirts, conspiracy theories, existential debates about life in Cincinnati, and the eternal question: could a gorilla play fullback?

13 takes

Void
#PMT-2016-0531-20507
Big CatBig Cat

Have we ever thought about making a gorilla a fullback?

I was looking at the picture of that gorilla — I don't want to get too sidetracked here, but have we ever thought about making a gorilla as a fullback?

Void
#PMT-2016-0531-20508
Big CatBig Cat

The child who fell into Harambe's enclosure was a plant

This child is a plant, man. This child wanted Harambe dead. The child slid under a fence, through wires, and climbed over a moat wall.

Void
#PMT-2016-0531-20509
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Harambe is happier dead than living in Cincinnati

Do you think that Harambe is, like, happier now that he's dead than living in some, like, terrible enclosure in Cincinnati?

Loss
Take Slip·Jun 1, 2016
#PMT-2016-0601-9136
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Gorillas are more valuable than humans because they are the patriarch of human invention

Technically humans, all those things that are invented by humans, humans are invented by gorillas, right? Like evolution. So wouldn't you say that gorillas are more valuable than humans? They're the patriarch of all those things. They're basically God.

Hot TakeLifeScorchingSarcastic
This is a philosophical and biological misunderstanding framed as satire; humans and gorillas share a common ancestor but humans did not evolve from modern gorillas.
Void
#PMT-2016-0603-17715
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Harambe the gorilla committed suicide by zookeeper to escape living in Cincinnati

Did Harambe like plan this whole thing out? When the kid fell in, do you think Harambe was like, this is my chance to finally get out of this fucking place... Like suicide by zookeeper is pretty much what I'm getting at here.

Clearly impossible to verify and intended as a joke.
Void
Take Slip·Jun 29, 2016
#PMT-2016-0629-3214
AsirAsir

Harambe the gorilla had no intentions of hurting the child in the enclosure

He wasn't going to hurt the child. Exactly. He had no intentions of hurting the child at all... He was playing with the child. He was helping the child out of the moat. Exactly. His intentions were not to hurt the child. That I can feel clear.

The internal motivations of a gorilla are impossible to verify, though this remains a heated debate in internet culture.
Win
#PMT-2019-1106-14118
HankHank

The word 'Boomer' has jumped the shark

Boomer just the word Boomer has invaded like meme and American culture to a point where like I'm sick of it. It's kind of jumped the shark a little bit. But now it's at one of those things where it's like so mainstream it's like harambee after like two months where I was funny in the beginning.

Memes by nature have short lifespans, and 'OK Boomer' did indeed fade from mainstream cultural relevance shortly after the 2019 peak.
Void
Take Slip·May 28, 2021·Opening
#PMT-2021-0528-20510
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Without Harambe getting shot, Pardon My Take might not exist

Without that fucking gorilla getting shot, I don't know if I'd be sitting next to you right now, Big Cat. One of the seminal moments of Pardon My Take — getting sued by ESPN, Adam Morrison's bunker, and then the summer of Harambe.

Win
Take Slip·May 28, 2021
#PMT-2021-0528-6454
Big CatBig Cat

The ironic resurgence of Harambe is due for a comeback

I think we actually are getting close to having it [Harambe] be funny again. The resurgence. Because it was very funny for that summer. Then it was like very lame. But now enough time has passed where if you just drop a Harambe, it's like, oh, that's actually kind of funny. The ironic resurgence of Harambe is due.

The Harambe meme has indeed persisted in an ironic capacity within the PMT universe and internet culture at large.
Win
#PMT-2022-0131-19213
HankHank

Harambe is officially back as a cultural force due to the Bengals' Super Bowl run

My who's back of the week is our sweet prince Heran bay. We obviously were very early on it in 2016... with the Bengals making this run, then being from Cincinnati it's of naturally happened... it went Facebook, super nuclear viral... it's back.

The meme's resurgence during the 2021-22 playoffs was a verifiable internet trend.
Void
#PMT-2022-0207-12875
Big CatBig Cat

Five years is the official amount of time for a meme to become funny again

It's the perfect time for it to come full circle. Cause we've, we've predicted, we've had this conversation off air many times. Like when do you think Harambe jokes are going to be funny again? I think five years is now officially the amount of time when something can become fun again.

While comedy is subjective, the five-year 'nostalgia' cycle for memes is a recognized phenomenon in internet culture.
Void
Take Slip·Apr 15, 2022
#PMT-2022-0415-2723
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Philadelphia is the number one sports town in America

Philadelphia might be my number one sports town. It's like the rules surrounding Harambe's cage: Do not approach. Do not try to pet. If you do, bad things will happen. So you should know that the second you enter the Philadelphia city limits.

Ranking of sports towns is inherently subjective.
Void
Take Slip·Oct 19, 2022
#PMT-2022-1019-15350
Joe BurrowJoe Burrow

Harambe would record at least seven sacks a game in the NFL

You gotta take Harambe, right? I mean the strength to weight ratio is just way higher than humans. That's, I mean that's a easy seven sacks a game I'm sure.

Impossible to verify but serves as a peak 'PMT take'.