WHAT'S ALL THE BUZZING ABOUT BEES?

September 13, 2023 9:56 AM

Why all the bee chat all over the site this week? I appreciate it, but I'd like to both appreciate and understand it.

Is it some kind of important bee anniversary week? Is it some obvious thing and I'm too dense to put it together? Is it actually just that someone got the snowball rolling and now we're "yes and"-ing ourselves to being a bee website?

posted by kensington314 to Bugs at 9:56 AM (49 comments total)

Sometimes MeFi gets a good bee in their bonnet.
posted by Kitteh at 9:59 AM on September 13, 2023 [12 favorites]

Sometimes it's just bee cause.
posted by mochapickle at 10:12 AM on September 13, 2023 [21 favorites]

I think it's just a thing that has become popular and everyone's glomming onto it. It's happened here before - there'll be a day where people make posts about Klingons or something, or there's a speech style everyone adopts (CAPS LOCK IS HOW I FEEL INSIDE RICK) or something, and everyone vibes with it a while and then it gets old.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:17 AM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

#justhivemindthings
posted by phunniemee at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2023 [17 favorites]

Buzz off.

Buzz kill.

Buzz Lightyear.

Buzz Aldrin.

Buzzer beater.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:42 AM on September 13, 2023

I can say this much about it: I happened to see two bee-related posts on the front page on Monday, which I assumed was a coincidence, and for the hell of it I made a "free thread" post using a bee-related pun in the title. I'm guessing that contributed to everyone else getting in on the impromptu fun.

So yeah, I think the reason is "for the sheer hell of it".

It's happened here before

Remember Poop Month for a couple of years running (no pun intended)?
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:44 AM on September 13, 2023 [13 favorites]

I for one welcome our new Apis mellifera overlords.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:56 AM on September 13, 2023 [10 favorites]

To answer your question, I have no idea how it started but I loved it. The internet tends to lean so corporate and structured and sponsored and filtered and curated now, so it's an absolute delight to stumble on purely organic, inventive weirdness like this.

Also, Metafilter feels kind of tense and eggshelly sometimes, and it feels like we've been having a particularly long spell of that lately, so having a random goofy low stakes thing like the bee threads where we can all genuinely enjoy each other's company felt really warm and welcoming to me.
posted by mochapickle at 11:26 AM on September 13, 2023 [26 favorites]

I miss the Potato days.

Remember Poop Month for a couple of years running (no pun intended)?

Is that running again? Can we wait until early 2024 (perhaps Faecal February would be a better label next time around)?
posted by Wordshore at 1:12 PM on September 13, 2023 [6 favorites]

Beads?
posted by bondcliff at 2:16 PM on September 13, 2023 [8 favorites]

Can we wait until early 2024

Can we wait until early 2042? On the other hand, if it will lure J. Wallflower back….
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:37 PM on September 13, 2023 [4 favorites]

I do miss Wallflower's posts. Especially the ones not related to elimination.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:56 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

Beads?

Roseanne Roseannadanna: "What all this I hear about anal bees!??"
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:02 PM on September 13, 2023 [5 favorites]

I literally just came here to ask this.
posted by madcaptenor at 3:02 PM on September 13, 2023

You came here to ask that?!
posted by aws17576 at 3:10 PM on September 13, 2023 [7 favorites]

No, they came here to ask this.
posted by dg at 3:17 PM on September 13, 2023 [4 favorites]

I made the second bee post, about the New York Times Spelling Bee game.

At the time, I was not aware that the post immediately before mine was also about bees.

The first comment on my post was 'Okay. The great potato thread confluence a while ago was fun.'

A bee flaps its wings and it changes the weather half a world away--sometimes stuff just happens.
posted by box at 3:31 PM on September 13, 2023 [19 favorites]

Hive mind? Please stop. This shit’s bananas.
posted by Ideefixe at 4:38 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

Wait, what? There are bananas in the staff room?
posted by calgirl at 5:00 PM on September 13, 2023 [6 favorites]

I thought I missed the announcement encouraging everyone to post about bees.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 5:35 PM on September 13, 2023 [3 favorites]

That memo only went out to cabal members. Of which there are none, of course...
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:40 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

The memo was asking bees to post about everyone.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:00 PM on September 13, 2023 [4 favorites]

Real nice meme you got here, be a shame if some other Apoidea horned in on it if you know what I mean.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:46 PM on September 13, 2023 [7 favorites]

I'm very pleased to have sparked the beenanza of bee posts.
posted by dhruva at 8:02 PM on September 13, 2023 [5 favorites]

It was a sting operation.
posted by dywypi at 8:15 PM on September 13, 2023 [17 favorites]

I made a short list of Theme Weeks on the Mefi Wiki-I remembered Potatoes, Poop and Worf, but feel free to add the ones I missed.
posted by zamboni at 8:55 PM on September 13, 2023 [6 favorites]

I think elephants was the original
posted by umber vowel at 9:03 PM on September 13, 2023

you get more flies with honey than with vinegar
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:09 AM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I was B4 you.
posted by y2karl at 1:08 AM on September 14, 2023

Ok, you freaks. WTF is up with the elephants?
posted by loquacious at 1:22 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Isn't it funny how an odd trend can pop up out of thin air and start charging?
posted by zamboni at 4:50 AM on September 14, 2023

I assumed somebody had made a really big donation during the fundraiser. Somebody with a...bee in their bonnet.
posted by praemunire at 7:51 AM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

what's the buzz, tell me whatsa happening
posted by dismas at 9:14 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mea culpa - I should not have doubted the Mefi Wiki. I have merged my article into Unintentional theme day.

(filthy light thief, I miss you!)
posted by zamboni at 9:22 AM on September 14, 2023 [6 favorites]

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
posted by briank at 11:41 AM on September 14, 2023

I always love when this sort of thing happens and I was happy to join in but otherwise am as mystified as you, perhaps more.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:12 PM on September 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

So what I'm hearing is that it just happened, there was no Plan Bee.
posted by aws17576 at 10:36 PM on September 14, 2023 [5 favorites]

in summary


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posted by lalochezia at 9:28 AM on September 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

Some people need to watch their proboscis!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:39 AM on September 15, 2023

Folks, remember to <pre></pre> your ASCII art.

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posted by zamboni at 11:09 AM on September 15, 2023 [5 favorites]

To bee, or not to bee: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the hive to suffer
The stings and wings of outrageous exertion
posted by Wallace Shawn at 11:17 AM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

That's inconceivable.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:17 PM on September 15, 2023

Unbelievable.
posted by box at 8:13 PM on September 15, 2023

My rosemary has just blossomed. I know you are haw-haw bees but I put this plant in the ground and cared for it because I love watch the bees tenderly accept it's invitation. I know I'm not a great person, but at least the feral bees around my house will live a little longer.
posted by SPrintF at 2:30 PM on September 17, 2023 [2 favorites]

SPrintF: I know I'm not a great person

You can say that, but the bees would disagree.
posted by Too-Ticky at 7:51 AM on September 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

I am so glad someone asked this question. I thought maybe it was an official theme week no one had mentioned loudly enough for me to hear. An accidental theme week is even better!
posted by Bella Donna at 2:32 PM on September 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

yes and
posted by amtho at 1:31 AM on September 19, 2023 [3 favorites]

Thread read, appropriately, while sitting in a local coffee shop (here in Sliver City) called "The Tranquil Buzz.

(IANMTU)
posted by mule98J at 7:59 AM on September 19, 2023 [2 favorites]

I wasn't sure what the heck was going on, but decided to roll with it when making a food post because why not?
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:30 AM on September 19, 2023 [2 favorites]