Tuesday, Jan. 3 saw the swearing in of several new members of Congress — including Rep. Roger Marshall (Kansas-R), who now has his 17-year-old son Cal to thank for making his photo-op with House Speaker Paul Ryan go seriously viral. Marshall’s son was given the simple task of holding the Bible for the mock swearing-in, but the teen decided to make the moment even more memorable by holding a “dab” pose while cameras went off — to the utter bewilderment of the House Speaker. And the Internet has not stopped laughing since.
If you just read all that and thought to yourself “what the heck is a dab?” let’s back up for a minute, shall we?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year or so, chances are you’ve seen someone do the dab. (Most likely it was your kid, or someone else’s.) Sure, you may not have known what the heck it was or what it was even called, but if you witnessed someone stop what they were doing, drop their head down, and point both arms upward and bend one elbow as if to cover a sneeze or sniff their armpit, you saw the dab.
The move first went viral after NFL quarterback Cam Newton “dabbed” during a game against the Tennessee Titans back in 2015.
See Exhibit A:
It actually originated as a hip-hop dance move out of Atlanta, but after Newton brought it to the football field, the gesture rapidly spread to athletes who began using it during games as a congratulatory move after scoring a point. Newton has since become the unofficial spokesman for the dab and even had a dabbing bobblehead made after him. (Yes, really.)
Although the word “dab” itself is also associated with a particular way to inhale marijuana smoke (who knew?), the mainstream popularity of the move has given it a different meaning entirely. Urban Dictionary defines the word as “Atlanta lingo for a level of confidence to your swag.”
Okay, so basically it’s a celebratory brag move that says “suck it” to the opposing team that you just crushed with your awesomeness.
Everyone from celebs to politicians have tried to capitalize on the dab’s popularity — many of which have been … well, hilariously awkward. The most notable public “dab” prior to Marshall’s son? Hillary Clinton in 2016, when she went on the Ellen DeGeneres show and tried to garner some youth votes with her “hip” swag.
Is this all starting to make sense now? Okay, so back to the story:
A video clip of Cal Marshall’s epic “dabbing” moment with Paul Ryan has since gone wildly viral, and let me tell you: It is hilariously uncomfortable to watch; especially since it clearly shows that Ryan has absolutely no idea what is happening. At one point, Ryan can be heard asking Cal “Were you going to sneeze? Is that it?” I love how kids everywhere are spoiling family photo ops with this pose; I thought my son was the only one!
Unfortunately, the New York Times reports that Cal’s dad has since grounded him for the stunt, but hey, what’s a few days of restricted privileges when you’ve reached worldwide Internet fame?
If this proves anything, it’s that clearly, dabbing is here to stay in 2017 — whether we adults “get it” or not. I thought for sure, the considerably more annoying bottle-flipping craze would replace the dab. But then this awkward yet hilarious present fell into all of our laps this week.
So hold tight to your patience when your kids dab for the umpteenth time at the dinner table and find some funny memes for perspective … his too will be a relic soon enough!