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Today is Black Friday. It’s pretty much the craziest shopping day of the year, when people try to get the best deals possible in the shortest amount of time. Whether you’re participating in Black Friday, working today, or just glad not to be a part of all the craziness, here are the funniest memes about this very special shopping day.
Black Friday Memes Make Fun of the Crazy Shopping Day
According to History.com, the first recorded use of Black Friday was actually used for a financial crisis of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. History notes: “Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy finally unraveled, sending the stock market into free-fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.”
That was a crazy day in U.S. history. But somehow the term evolved to refer to the day after Thanksgiving. A common story that’s told, History.com noted, is that after operating at a loss (which is called “in the red”) retailers were able to go back into the black and earn a profit the day after Thanksgiving. That was because shoppers bought so many items that had been discounted.
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That’s not actually where the name came from, though. History.com notes that in the 1950s, Philadelphia used the phrase “Black Friday” to describe how shoppers flooded the city on Friday in advance of the Army-Navy football game that was every Saturday after Thanksgiving. As a result, cops and other professions had to work really long shifts to keep up with the demand. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the term started to spread to the rest of the U.S., History.com continues. Around then, retailers changed the phrase to have a more positive concept.
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Now we also celebrate Small Business Saturday/Sunday and Cyber Monday in addition to Black Friday.
Sometimes Black Friday gets a little insane.
And retailers feel like they’re re-enacting some kind of huge battle scene.
Others feel quite prepared for the apocalypse.
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But sadly, our wallets might not feel quite so prepared.
However, there could be some great videos to watch later.
Whatever the case, Black Friday can be a great opportunity to get some really great deals. Just remember to be kind to the people working today, since they’re going to have a really long day.