Cheems Explained
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Species: | Canis familiaris |
Breed: | Shiba Inu |
Gender: | Male |
Birth Date: | 9 January 2011 |
Birth Place: | Hong Kong |
Death Place: | Hong Kong |
Death Cause: | Cancer |
Years Active: | 2019–2023 |
Known: | Internet celebrity |
Owner: | Kathy |
Residence: | Kowloon, Hong Kong |
Namedafter: | Ramune |
Module: | Child: | yes | C: | [1] | L: | Small ball | P: | Bōzǐ | Bpmf: | ㄅㄛ ㄗˇ | Gr: | Botzyy | W: | Po-tzu | Y: | Bō-jí | J: | Bo1-zi2 |
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Balltze (9 January 2011 – 18 August 2023), nicknamed Cheems in online memes, was a Shiba Inu from Hong Kong. He was called Ball Ball by his owners.
Biography
Balltze was born on 9 January 2011.[2] He was adopted at the age of one from an emigrating friend,[3] by fashion designer Kathy from Kowloon.[4] Kathy's brother named him after Ramune, a Japanese beverage in which a marble ball inside the bottle is pressed down to let the drink flow.[4] He was known as Ball Ball by his owners.[5]
In May 2022, Balltze was diagnosed with pancreatitis.[6] He recovered in June.[7] In May 2023, his owners reported that he had serious respiratory problems.[8] He had cancer and was undergoing thoracentesis (the draining of fluid from his chest) when he died on 18 August 2023, aged 12.[9] His funeral was held on 23 August, and donations of US$13,000 were sent to local animal charities.[10]
In a 2020 interview with Know Your Meme, Kathy said that Balltze wanted his legacy to be "Meme fade, [fellow Shiba Inu meme] Doge is eternal. Remember me as 'Balltze', not 'Cheems' or 'cheemsburger', I'm just a Balltze".[4]
Memes
Balltze appears as the Internet meme character Cheems, whose name comes from his taste for "cheemsburgers" . The character adds the letter "m" into words as he speaks.[6] The meme was first posted to the r/dogelore subreddit on Reddit in June 2019.[4] The image used for the meme was uploaded originally on Balltze's Instagram account in 2017, and shows him sitting on the floor.[5]
Cheems also features in the "Swole Doge vs Cheems" meme in which a muscular version of Doge represents something considered better in the past, and Cheems represents its current, lesser state.[5] The meme became viral in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] [12] In another meme format, Godzilla and King Kong represent two competing concepts, while Cheems armed with a baseball bat is the winning third concept, chasing the other two away.[13]
In 2020, another meme circulated, in which Cheems hits another dog with a baseball bat causing the onomatopoeia "bonk", while saying "go to horny jail"; the meme is posted in response to sexually suggestive messages.[5] The Guardian journalist Caleb Quinley noted this image in protests against the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.[14]
Cheems appeared in several other memes in the Spanish-speaking world, including saying "no puede ser" ("It cannot be") and "me da amsiedad" ("It gives me amxiety" [''sic'']).[15] [16] In 2021, Spain's public broadcaster RTVE wrote "What is clear is that a meme is worth more than a thousand words and Cheems and Doge now form part of Internet popular culture, reinventing themselves constantly to brighten our days or put us in our places".[5] Balltze's owner Kathy's favourite Cheems meme was one in Spanish, in which he takes a bath and says "Could you carry on scrolling? It's just that I'm taking a bamth [''sic'']".[4]
Kathy initially did not understand the Cheems memes for their absurdist nature. She later signed deals with a management company and an American toy company, as well as making T-shirts which benefitted local canine charities.[4]
Cheems inspired cryptocurrency such as Cheems Inu and Cheemscoin. Parth Dubey of the International Business Times wrote that they were part of "a number of wannabe dog-themed coins" competing against Dogecoin and the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency.[17]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- News: 經典Meme香港柴犬「波子」逝世 主人冀續為網民帶來歡樂 (16:07) . The owner of the deceased classic Meme Shiba Inu "Balltze" from Hong Kong hopes to continue to bring joy to netizens (16:07) . 21 August 2023 . . 20 August 2023 . Chinese . 21 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230821170651/https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e7%86%b1%e9%bb%9e/article/20230820/s00024/1692513783553/%e7%b6%93%e5%85%b8meme%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e6%9f%b4%e7%8a%ac%e3%80%8c%e6%b3%a2%e5%ad%90%e3%80%8d%e9%80%9d%e4%b8%96-%e4%b8%bb%e4%ba%ba%e5%86%80%e7%ba%8c%e7%82%ba%e7%b6%b2%e6%b0%91%e5%b8%b6%e4%be%86%e6%ad%a1%e6%a8%82 . live .
- News: Balltze, PERRO conocido como "Cheems" en los MEMES, cumple 10 años: VIDEO . Balltze, DOG known as "Cheems" in MEMES, turns 10: VIDEO . 20 August 2023 . . 10 January 2021 . Spanish . 20 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230820181231/https://heraldodemexico.com.mx/tendencias/2021/1/10/balltze-perro-conocido-como-cheems-en-los-memes-cumple-10-anos-video-243479.html . live .
- News: Laurinavičius . Rokas . Baliūnaitė . Ilona . This Rescue Shiba Inu Is Responsible For The Hilarious Cheems Meme (30 Pics) . 20 August 2023 . Bored Panda . 6 July 2020 . 20 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230820181239/https://www.boredpanda.com/shiba-cheems-meme-dog-balltze/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic . live .
- News: Sweat . Zach . Chatting With Cheems: Balltze's Owner Gives Us Some Personal Insight Into Life With One Of The Web's Favorite Shibas . 20 August 2023 . . 22 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230822011526/https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/interviews/chatting-with-cheems-balltzes-owner-gives-us-some-personal-insight-into-life-with-one-of-the-webs-favorite-shibas . live .
- News: Doge y Cheems vuelven por San Valentín . Doge and Cheems return for Valentine's Day . 20 August 2023 . . 12 February 2021 . Spanish . 7 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230807232503/https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20210212/san-valentin-trae-vuelta-doge-cheems/2075278.shtml . live .
- News: Cheems, el perro de los memes, está delicado de salud: "No está tan activo como antes" . Cheems, the dog from the memes, is in fragile health: "He isn't as active as before" . 20 August 2023 . . 20 May 2022 . Spanish . 20 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230820181228/https://www.lanacion.com.ar/estados-unidos/cheems-el-perro-de-los-memes-esta-delicado-de-salud-no-esta-tan-activo-como-antes-nid20052022/ . live .
- News: Frausto . Kevin . Cheems, perrito viral de internet, se recupera de grave enfermedad. Cheems, viral Internet doggo, recovers from serious illness . 20 August 2023 . . 7 June 2022 . Spanish.
- News: Rodríguez . B. . Perrito Cheems está muy enfermo y su dueño teme lo peor . Doggo Cheems is very sick and his owner fears the worst . 20 August 2023 . . 17 May 2023 . Spanish . 21 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521092518/https://www.excelsior.com.mx/trending/perrito-cheems-esta-muy-enfermo-y-su-dueno-teme-lo-peor/1587426 . live .
- News: Blumenthal . Emily . 21 August 2023 . Cheems Balltze, the internet's cheeseburger-loving dog, has died . . live . 21 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230821170226/https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/21/entertainment/cheems-balltze-viral-dog-dies-intl-scli/index.html . 21 August 2023.
- News: "El amor nos separa, pero también nos une": despiden a Cheems con emotivo funeral. "Love tears us apart, but also unites us": farewell to Chemms with emotional funeral. 28 December 2023 . . 9 November 2023 . Spanish.
- News: Swole Doge vs. Cheems: el meme de los perros que se está viralizando en redes . Swole Doge vs. Cheems: the dog meme that is going viral on the web . 20 August 2023 . . 27 May 2020 . Spanish . 4 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230404070238/https://www.lavanguardia.com/cribeo/fast-news/20200527/481425063352/swole-doge-vs-cheems-meme-perros-esta-viralizando-redes.html . live .
- News: Entrepreneur en Español . 11 January 2021 . Cheems, the Dog Made Famous By Memes, Turned 10 Years Old . . 21 August 2023 . 29 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220929001112/https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Cheems-the-Dog-Made-Famous-By-Memes-Turned-10-15861211.php . live .
- News: 'This is gold': KFC Spain's twist to Godzilla vs Kong meme sets internet abuzz . . 28 August 2023 . 17 February 2021.
- News: Quinley . Caleb . Three-finger salute: Hunger Games symbol adopted by Myanmar protesters . 24 August 2023 . . 8 February 2021.
- News: Aguilar . Eduardo . ¿De qué raza es el perro Cheems? . What breed was Cheems the dog? . 21 August 2023 . Pet Life . 19 August 2023 . Spanish . 21 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230821191322/https://www.petlife.mx/tendencias/2023/8/19/de-que-raza-es-el-perro-cheems-1549.html . live .
- News: Cortez . Diego . Cheems murió, la famosa perrita [''sic''] del meme de la 'amsiedad' ]. Cheems, the famous dog from the 'amxiety' meme, died . 21 August 2023 . . 19 August 2023 . Spanish . 22 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230822165825/https://elmanana.com.mx/escena/2023/8/19/cheems-murio-la-famosa-perrita-del-meme-de-la-amsiedad-106133.html . live .
- News: Dubey . Parth . Stench Of A Scam? Statement Supposedly By Cheems Inu Raises Red Flags For Crypto Investors . 24 August 2023 . . 13 December 2021.