Aimeé
It’s just after the holidays, so people have been thinking about how they’ve delighted or disappointed their families recently.
Twitter product manager Laura Gao turned that thought process into the wonderfully repeatable flight attendant meme that has taken over everyone’s Twitter feeds this weekend. In her imaginary script, she’s on a plane with her dad and there’s a medical emergency—a classic dangerous scenario!
And Gao’s dad wishes she were a doctor who could help. She shoulda been, according to him. But all she has are these pesky product management skills. Darn.
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor onboard?
Dad: *nudging me* that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a Product Manager to help, are they?
Me: Dad, there’s a medical emergency happening right now
Dad: Go and see if “let’s have a follow-up meeting” helps
— Laura Gao ✌️ (@heylauragao) November 26, 2019
Most people are using the meme as Gao intended—to talk about themselves and what they do:
Flight attendant: any doctors on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that could’ve been you
Me: not now dad
Dad: not asking for a podcast host are they?
Me: dad theres a medical emergency happening
Dad: go see if a Casper mattress helps
— Galen Druke (@galendruke) November 27, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a Dr. on this flight?
Dad: that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Maybe you can flippy Mctwisty him back to health
Me: Dad, there’s an emergency
Dad: use your “always special” cheat code
Me: But we’re in first class and I paid for our flight
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) November 28, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a sports marketer to help, are they?
Me: Dad, there’s a medical emergency happening right now
Dad: Go and see if throwing them a t-shirt helps
— Chris Grosse (@Chris_Grosse) November 26, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a social media influencer to help, are they?
Me: Dad there’s a medical emergency happening
Dad: Go see if “being super excited to partner” helps
— Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) November 26, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a UPS driver to help, are they?
Me: Dad, there’s a medical emergency happening right now
Dad: Go see if throwing a box into a garage door helps
— Sweatpants Cher 🔶 (@House_Feminist) November 26, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a dancer to help, are they?
Me: Dad, there’s a medical emergency happening right now
Dad: Go and see if “plié relevé” helps
— M A R T I N A✨ (@martusolnaf) November 26, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor onboard?
Dad: *that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a Young Adult Author to help, are they?
Me: Dad, there’s a medical emergency
Dad: Go see if saying “now kiss” to the distressed woman and the flight attendant helps
— Tehlor Kay Mejia (@tehlorkay) November 26, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that should’ve been you
Me: Not now Dad
Dad: Not asking for a journalist to help, are they?
Me: Dad, there’s a medical emergency happening right now
Dad: Go and see if “finding a second source” helps
— A$AP JOURNO (@lostblackboy) November 26, 2019
Which is rubbing some people the wrong way:
The airplane joke is “gifted kid” shit on steroids — fake humility in the service of talking about the intricacies of your profession. It’s perfect for this website. You really do love to see it.
— willy (@willystaley) November 27, 2019
Luckily for them, other’s are using it to make different types of jokes, which are generally funnier because they’re surprising:
Flight Attendant: Is there a doctor on board?
Dad (nudging me): Wake, lad. Today we watch a man die
— Parker (@jeffparker) November 27, 2019
Flight attendant: everything is fine, please have a nice flight
Dad: 🙂
Me: 🙂
Flight attendant: 🙂
Nearby doctor who gets to relax: 🙂
— Karen Chee (@karencheee) November 28, 2019
flight attendant: is there a man on board?
mom: *nudging me* should’ve been you
— Emily “The Yam” VanDerWerff (@tvoti) November 27, 2019
Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Me: I’m a biology PhD, if that helps
Attendant: Thank god! Tell us—is this fruit fly male or female?
Me: Definitely female
[Everyone cheers, pours champagne]
PHYSICIAN’S MOM: Why couldn’t you have been a PhD, Margaret?
— Scott Barolo (@sbarolo) November 27, 2019
Flight attendant: “What are those weird pink ponds in San Francisco Bay?”
Me: *crashes up the aisle and grabs the loudspeaker microphone* “SO TIDAL WETLANDS IN THE BAY FORMED ROUGHLY 2 TO 5 THOUSAND YEARS AGO AS POST-ICE AGE RATES OF SEA LEVEL RISE SLOWED AND STABILIZED…”
— Christina Toms (@ChristinaToms) November 28, 2019
Flight attendant: do we have a doctor on board?
Dad *nudging me*: this could have been you
Me: not now dad
Flight attendant: oh fuck did I say doctor? I meant GAMER
Me: hell yea I’m a gamer
Flight attendant: fuck yea dude, plane’s going down and it plays like Halo
Me: sick
— Hard Drive (@HardDriveMag) November 29, 2019
If only making memes was a job parents were proud of.
More of the funniest memes of 2019:
- 13 Memes For Anyone Whose Brain Is Doo Doo When It Comes To Remembering Names
- Hallmark Christmas Movies Are Predictable Yet Addictive (19 Memes)
- Being A Sagittarius Sounds Fun Yet Exhausting (28 Sagittarius Season Memes)
- Tesla Truck Memes As Edgy As The Truck Itself (25 Memes)
- Roses Are Red, Lenin Was A Commie, Cats Can Have A Little Salami (27 Memes)
