The Origin Of The Do A Barrel Roll Meme

At one point in your life, you may have typed "do a barrel roll" into Google and watched the screen do a complete roll. What in the world is this from though? If you are not up-to-date on your meme lingo, we are here to help you.

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Here, we are going to take a look at the origin of "Do A Barrel Roll". Additionally, we will take a look at some popular examples. After, you may even become a pro at using this classic meme. Now, let's take a look at the 1997 game that this popular meme comes from.

Updated December 10, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: Still working on your barrel rolls? We've updated this article with a few more examples of this classic meme, giving you plenty of barrel rolls to think about.

What Game Is Do A Barrel Roll From?

The Barrel Roll originates from Star Fox 64, which was released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64. In this game, you play as Fox McCloud during the Lylat Wars. Star Fox is a classic rail shooter, where most of the action takes place in your Arwing.

Want to see Peppy telling you to do a barrel roll firsthand? Check out a video of the scene here!

The line "do a barrel roll" was first spoken by Peppy Hare, instructing you to do a barrel roll several times. When you successfully did a barrel roll (by pressing Z or R twice), you would gain a temporary shield to block enemy attacks.

This wasn't just made up for the game though; a barrel roll is a real military maneuver. The military version involved rolling and doing a 90-degree turn. Star Fox 64's barrel roll is more similar to the 'aileron roll', as you don't turn 90 degrees.

Press Z Or R Twice

Sometimes, you may see this meme in another format; press Z or R twice. Above, we mentioned that these are the actual buttons that you need to press to do the barrel roll. As such, these instructions have become synonymous with the barrel roll meme.

Do A Barrel Roll Meme Examples

In the 'meme' timeline, "do a barrel roll" is quite old. Memes rise and fall in popularity, and the popularity of this meme has reached its peak. Most memes involving this phrase were in the older format with a black frame and centered white text.

Below, you can check out some common ways this meme was used. The meme with the bunny is a direct reference to Peppy Hare, as his character shouted to do the maneuver first.

Most of the time, this meme was used when something rolled over when it wasn't supposed to. Cruise ships and cars aren't supposed to flip, so this was a perfect moment to use the meme.

Barrel Roll Examples In Pop Culture

In addition to memes, barrel rolls are found in pop culture. One of the most well-known examples of this meme is thanks to Google. Since 2011, you can type the phrase "do a barrel roll" into the search bar, and the entire site will rotate 360 degrees.

Within the Star Fox universe, barrel rolls were kept alive and well. In Star Fox Zero, which launched in 2016, Peppy says "Barrel Roll!" whenever he does the maneuver.

Barrel Rolls can be found in Saints Row IV. In this game, you will be commanded at one point to "do a barrel roll". Additionally, the 2022 reboot (simply called Saints Row) has an achievement called 'The Spins', which requires you to do a barrel roll. While barrel rolls aren't exclusively tied to Star Fox, this may be a nod to the classic.

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