You could argue that the hashtag jumped the shark when social media users began using it not to categorize or clarify, but instead to simply say something that they should have just said in the actual message. #IDontwanttogotoclass, #massivesunburnonmyface, and #YOLO, anyone? Maybe the death of the hashtag happened when Facebook users started using it despite Facebook’s lack of support (Facebook has since added hashtags).
If you argued that, I don’t think I could argue against you. But in my mind, the hashtag was still alive until about 17 hours ago, at which point legal talking head Nancy Grace made this tweet:
Cops say a young mom killed her newborn in a sport bar bathroom toilet. I’m taking your calls right now: 877-626-2901 #ToiletBaby
— Nancy Grace (@NancyGraceHLN) September 3, 2013
Yes. That’s a #ToiletBaby hashtag you see.
The story goes like this: An Allentown, Pennsylvania woman is being held without bail after she allegedly gave birth to a baby in a pub bathroom, and proceeded to suffocate it with a garbage bag and leave it in the toilet. She later returned to her friends to finish watching a pay-per-view wrestling match.
This is horrible, obviously. And the story is definitely right up Nancy Grace’s alley. But #ToiletBaby? That’s…well…that’s something. Yes, Nancy Grace, #ToiletBaby is an apt description of the story and you’re even using the hashtag properly – to categorize tweets about a specific topic! But dude…
The #ToiletBaby-ing went on for a couple of hours:
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And Nancy Grace asked her viewers to hashtag #ToiletBaby on her HLN show:
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Now, #ToiletBaby isn’t an entirely new hashtag. It’s been around for a while. But in the past, people have generally used it to describe, well, large production in the bathroom – maybe after a burrito of unusual proportions? This is about a kid dumped in a bar restroom so its mother to continue to watch WWE Summerslam.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Image via reddit
