A People's History of the Internet Campaign to Get Smash Mouth to Eat 24 Eggs

Smash Mouth sucks eggs.

​You gotta hand it to the internet ... It is a consistently -- no, dependably -- weird place.

The internet is society's Id. It's the only place where the minutia of our droll everydays -- what we ate, where we're going, what we're thinking -- are filed right next to secret identities reserved for harassment (see: trolling) and our kinkiest, most eye-crossing preferences.

It is also a great place to badger (see: incessantly tweet at) washed-up pop stars (see: Smashmouth) into doing completely bizarre shit (see: eating 24 eggs) for charity.

Smash Mouth are a late-'90s pop experiment frozen in time. They play radio-ready rock for department stores. Maybe you could call them a more aggro Sugar Ray. Their breakout single was the inescapable-in-1997 "Walkin' On the Sun" followed by soundtrack hits like "All Star" and a cover of The Monkees' "Believer" for Mystery Men and Shrek, respectively.

Now Crossfade's gotta admit: Smash Mouth has been off our radar for a minute. But apparently, they still exist enough for the internet to launch a totally absurd campaign with the band (and two dozen eggs) at the center of the LOLz.

June 3: @fart Inspires the Internet to Goad Smash Mouth Into Eating 24 Eggs


You have to wonder if the dude behind the @fart account realized how much something he would be creating out of nothing when he posted the above tweet at the beginning of June.

June 8: British Bro Writes Song For YouTube About Smash Mouth Eating 24 Eggs



In less than a week's time, the non-sequitur demand that Smash Mouth consume 24 eggs had gained serious traction, blooming into a full-blown Twitter meme and even registering some YouTube acknowledgement.

June 30: Guerrilla Comments Derail Smash Mouth News Article With Demands That the Band Eat 24 Eggs

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By the end of the month, stray postings announcing Smash Mouth concerts were being hijacked with egg demands. Note the emergence of the charity component, exhibited in Greg Pollock's post. This stipulation was the movement's greatest stride, and it was likely the component that ensured the campaigners' victory. The 24 Egg Revolution did not stop at promotional Smash Mouth webspace, going as far as storming the gates of Wikipedia.

July 5: Smash Mouth Agree to Eat 24 Eggs For Charity

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