Your friend just sent you a YouTube link.
"You have to check this out, I can't believe this guy fought a rhinoceros with his bare hands! If you turn up your speakers you can hear spider monkeys screaming in the background!"
The spider monkeys sound legit, so you decide to investigate this for yourself. You turn up the volume on your speakers and click the link. And then you hear the lyrics: "We're no strangers to love ... You know the rules and so do I ..."
You've been Rick Rolled. Again. Damn!
"Rick Roll" is the used to describe when a person posts an Internet link and claims that it is something insightful or interesting when it actually leads to the 1987 Rick Astley music video, "Never Gonna Give You Up."
This Internet phenomenon - which seems to have filled the void left by Chuck Norris jokes - has taken hold of our generation in recent months. The video has received upwards of 10 million hits on YouTube.
So why, out of thousands upon thousands of music videos (the majority of which are pointless and stupid), did this particular one gain notoriety more than 20 years after its release? Because the video is lame - super lame - and thus, kind of awesome.
The trend has been mentioned on ESPN, in The Chicago Tribune and even on "Family Guy." On April Fool's Day, YouTube made all of its feature links lead to the video, including a link to purchase an MP3 version of his album. Astley himself seems dumbfounded by the fad and, in all fairness, who can blame him?
In a recorded interview with The Los Angeles Times, Astley said, "It's a bit strange anyway, to be honest, to have videos of when you were a young guy out on the Internet. Do you know what I mean? I'm 42 years old now, so it's a little bit weird anyway. But it's funny. It makes me laugh - I'm sure it really annoys a lot of other people, but it's made me laugh occasionally."
Speaking from personal experience, being Rick Rolled is a demoralizing ordeal. It's never fun to be tricked, but being forced to watch Astley, with his puffy ginger hair and dollar-store sunglasses, dance in front of a fence just adds insult to injury. But I do find a twisted enjoyment out of Rick Rolling just about everyone I know on a frequent basis. I actually used to have friends before the craze came about.
To my surprise, the fad has even inspired some real-life Rick Rolling events.
There are videos of people playing the song at Church of Scientology protests, business meetings and even a college basketball game.
A personal favorite Rick Roll occurred when a man staged a counter protest to the Westboro Baptist Church.
For those unfamiliar with the practices of the members of this "church," their hobbies include picketing the funerals of dead soldiers in protest of homosexuality and expressing intolerance for just about anyone who isn't them.
As members of the church stood on the street corner holding signs that read, "God hates the U.S.A." and "Mourn for your sins," another man stood beside them holding a stereo blasting Astley's timeless hit while displaying a sign that read, "You got Rick Roll'd."
I suppose the event could represent a microcosm for what Rick Rolling truly is: human interaction at both its best and worst.
The next time you're given an obscure Internet link, I'd advise you to think twice before clicking. The dark portion of history known as the late 1980s may be waiting on the other side.
For more information on Rick Rolling, visit www.internetisseriousbusiness.com.
Treadway is a radio-television-film sophomore.
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