Xennial Memes
Newspaper clipping listing crimes by amount stolen: "Stealing a million—Genius. Stealing $500,000—Sagacity. Stealing $100,000—Shrewdness. Stealing $50,000—Misfortune. Stealing $25,000—Irregularity. Stealing $10,000—Misappropriation. Stealing $5,000—Speculation. Stealing $2,500—Embezzlement. Stealing $1,250—Swindling. Stealing $100—Larceny. Stealing $10—Theft. Stealing a ham—War on society." Caption: "Appeal to…

Stealing a Ham Is War on Society, 1905 Edition

A 1905 newspaper clipping shows how the label for stealing shifts from genius to theft as the amount shrinks, a wealth-gap joke that still lands in history class.

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Newspaper clipping listing crimes by amount stolen: "Stealing a million—Genius. Stealing $500,000—Sagacity. Stealing $100,000—Shrewdness. Stealing $50,000—Misfortune. Stealing $25,000—Irregularity. Stealing $10,000—Misappropriation. Stealing $5,000—Speculation. Stealing $2,500—Embezzlement. Stealing $1,250—Swindling. Stealing $100—Larceny. Stealing $10—Theft. Stealing a ham—War on society." Caption: "Appeal to…

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White and colored hand-lettered chart on a black background comparing two columns split by a vertical line. Left heading in green: "Good Theft". Right heading in pink: "Bad Theft". A "VS." is circled in the middle. Rows: "Honor" / "Degrade"; "Study" / "Skim"; "Steal from many" / "Steal from one"; "Credit" / "Plagiarize"; "Transform" / "Imitate"; "Remix" / "Rip off". Aged, creased typewritten memo from the Dallas County Hospital District, Office Memorandum, November 27, 1963, to all employees. It recounts President Kennedy and Governor Connally arriving at Parkland Memorial Hospital on November 22, 1963, and Lee H. Oswald dying there on November 24, 1963. A seven-item list covers what the hospital did in 48 hours and 31 minutes. It closes by praising its people. Signed J.… Photo of a yellowed newspaper clipping on a paper towel. It reads: "DEAR ABBY: A long time ago, you had a definition of "maturity" that I kept and liked a lot. I can't find it. Can you dig it up, please? – Mother in Osceola, Ark. Dear Mother: Consider it dug. It was penned by my mother: This is maturity: To be able to stick with a job until it's finished; to do one's duty without being supervised; to be able to… Yellow diagram with black icons showing a loop of arrows. Text in order: More Equality, Boom!, Wealth Gap, Wealth Glut, Unemployed Lawyers, Elite Fratricide, Political Disorder, Reform? Icons include people toasting, a tiger, a lounging figure with a drink, a tornado, and raised hands. Four-panel black-and-white comic. Panel 1: a dark round character with a smug look holds hands with a lighter blushing round character, hearts floating above. Panel 2: the light one, teary, says "SWEETIE? BABE, WHAT'S HAPPEN-ING??" and "SOME-THING'S WRONG. I... I CAN'T." The dark one says "WAIT-". Panel 3: the dark one shrinks and drifts away saying "I... LOVE YOU..." while the light one wails: "NO! WAIT! YOU HAVE… A white paper flyer pasted on a green metal street pole, with graffiti around it. Text: "People are out there hoarding hand sanitizer. They're driving the prices up because they're buying all of it. Now they're reselling it for higher and higher prices and making huge profits. Some of them are charging ridiculous prices just to let other people use it. So now there are people who can't afford it even if some is…

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