WIRED Staff
Culture

Keep on Munching

Nehal Patel's "Mr. T. Ate My Balls" has inspired hundreds of imitators. In conversation with the NetSlaves, Patel reveals how the site originate and its strange appeal.
Stream the whole interview (12:41 min.)

It's gotten to the point that everything under the sun has an "Ate My Balls" site devoted to it.

Think we're kidding? Well, try this one on for size: According to the official AMB WebRing homepage, there are currently 473 sites -- and counting -- devoted to the concept.

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Stream the whole interview (12:41 min.)

Patel talks about:

  1. How it all began
  2. The concept's unique appeal
  3. Letting it be
  4. An underground phenomenonTheir targets range from the obvious to the ridiculous. Among them: "Bill Gates Ate My Balls," "Britney Spears Ate My Balls," "Pokemon Ate My Balls," "eBay Auctioned Off My Balls," and for the historically hip, "Mexican Archeology Ate My Balls."

The sites are for the most part poorly coded affairs shoveled up on university servers or free-hosting services like GeoCities and Tripod and consist of crudely altered graphics of their subjects' uttering ridiculous phrases into cartoon bubbles. Yet, it is these exact qualities that make them faithful to Patel's original and his only follow-up, Chewbacca Ate My Balls.

Patel talks to the NetSlaves about the strange circumstances one night in his dorm that gave him the idea for the Mr. T. parody and explains why AMB has attracted such rabid fans, including writer and satirist Dave Barry. Patel also discusses how "silly, tasteless humor" is an essential part of the Net and is unlikely to ever go away, despite the recent "Wazzup, Elian?" fandango and other interventions by the powers-that-be.

Origins of Mr. T Ate My Balls (671 KB)
How a broken exit sign in a dorm inspired the Web's first "Ate My Balls" site.

The concept's unique appeal (763 KB)
Patel discusses the Net's seemingly endless appetite for "silly, tasteless humor".

Letting it be (753 KB)
Patel discusses why, despite his site's runaway success, he'd rather not become a full-time humorist.

An underground phenomenon (779 KB)
Why, despite the proliferation of numerous "Ate My Balls" Web rings, this kind of activity is probably destined to remain unexplored by the major media.

Like what you hear? Read the book: NetSlaves: True Tales of Working the Web, a beyond-the-hype look at what it's really like to work in the Internet business.