O RLY?

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"ORLY" redirects here. For other uses, see Orly (disambiguation).

O RLY? is an abbreviation for "Oh, really?" and is an Internet phenomenon, typically presented as an image macro featuring a Snowy Owl. The phrase "O RLY?" is typically used in a sarcastic or sardonic manner, often in response to a statement that the speaker feels is obvious, or blatantly false and/or self-contradictory.[1] Some internet forum trolls may also reply "O RLY?" in response to a lengthy or overly detailed post.

Contents

[edit] History

The phrase "O RLY?" was used on the Something Awful Forums at least as early as August 2003.[2] The original "O RLY?" Snowy Owl image macro is based on a photo taken by nature photographer John White, which he posted to the newsgroup alt.binaries.pictures.animals in 2001.[3] The snowy owl image was photoshopped on 4chan after the word filtering of the word "repost" to "owl".[4]

[edit] Use in commercial works

"O Rly?" and "Ya Rly!" in Mega Man Battle Network 6.
  • In the Game Boy Advance game Mega Man Battle Network 6, if the player tries the Humor program at Cyber Academy, Lan responds to a certain joke with "O Rly?" and MegaMan.EXE replies with "Ya Rly!". Also, if the player tries it at the Expo Site, there is a "No Wai!" joke.[5]
  • In the Xbox 360 version of the football game Blitz: The League, one of the hidden gamer achievements is called "O RLY?" It is earned by losing a Campaign Mode game by more than 24 points. The image of this achievement is, appropriately enough, of a snowy owl.[6]
  • In Striker 2: USB Laser Guided Missile Launcher game/gun, the O RLY owl appears as a secret character dressed in a Santa's outfit.
  • The promotional video announcing the American license of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, "Adventures of the ASOS Brigade Episode 00: Made by Fans for Fans," features a short segment using pictures with the caption "O RLY?" in both English and Japanese. The segment starts with Yuki Nagato making a statement in Japanese, with an "O RLY?" image displayed, and with her replying, in Japanese, "Really." The segment ends with another picture saying "NO WAI!"[7]
  • The Australian sketch show The Ronnie Johns Half Hour included a sketch called Ham1337 in which Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy was translated via subtitles into internet abbreviations. At one point, the subtitles read "O RLY?", "YA RLY", "NO WAI!".
  • The TV show Totally Viral on the Dave channel features the O Rly owl in its opening titles.
  • The English version of the Nintendo DS game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney features a murder witness named Olga Orly, and from the point she is introduced, the characters in the court begin saying "Oh really?".
  • The TV show The IT Crowd features a wall poster in the main room with O RLY?.
  • In the MMORPG World of Warcraft, a white owl named "O'Reily" can be found in Steamwheedle Port in northeastern Tanaris.[8] There is also an auctioneer in Booty Bay named O'Reely, and one in the Undercity whose name is Yarly.[9]
  • In the webcomic "Erfworld: the Battle for Gobwin Knob", there are white owl units called "Orlies" who say "Orly?" all the time.
  • In the MMORPG EverQuest 2, Orly and Yarly are two Hooluk (owl-like race) NPCs that stand above the portal on Whisperwind Isle in The Barren Sky.[10][11]
  • The puzzle game Trism briefly shows The O Rly Owl as an easter egg when the player achieves a 13-chain of trisms.
  • The text-based game Alter Aeon features an emote titled "orly."

[edit] Computer worm

On May 10, 2006, anti-virus company Sophos discovered a computer worm known as "W32/Hoots-A", which sends a graphical image of the snowy owl to a print queue when it infects a Windows-based computer.[12][13]

[edit] See also

Sister project Look up o rly? in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jerry Langton (2007-09-22). "Funny how `stupid' site is addictive". http://www.thestar.com/living/article/257955. Retrieved on 2008-05-24. 
  2. ^ Fantastipotamus (2003-08-30). "What was the weirdest/funniest answer you ever put on a test?". http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=677909. Retrieved on 2007-02-14. 
  3. ^ John White (2001-02-17). "Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca)003 - Silly lookingface". http://animalpicturesarchive.com/animal/ViewImg.cgi?img=a7/Snowy_Owl_Nyctea_scandiaca_005-by_John_White.jpg. Retrieved on 2007-01-20. 
  4. ^ "4chan word filter thread". http://4-ch.net/dqn/kareha.pl/1123315554. Retrieved on 2006-11-07. 
  5. ^ Capcom Production Studio 2. Mega Man Battle Network 6. (Capcom).
  6. ^ "Blitz: The League Achievement List". http://xbox360achievements.org/achievements.php?gameID=159. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. 
  7. ^ "ASOS Brigade - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". http://asosbrigade.com/. Retrieved on 2007-01-20. 
  8. ^ Allakhazam listing for O'Reily
  9. ^ Allakhazam listing for Yarly
  10. ^ Allakhazam listing for Orly
  11. ^ Allakhazam listing for Yarly
    • The strategy game Apollo Justice features a character named Olga Orly, pronounced "Oh really."
  12. ^ Staff Writers (2006-05-12). "Sophos discovers hooting virus". crn.com.au. http://www.crn.com.au/story.aspx?CIID=37699. Retrieved on 2006-07-16. 
  13. ^ "Crazy owl preys on network printers, Sophos reports on Hoots worm". Sophos. 2006-05-11. http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/05/hoots.html. Retrieved on 2006-07-16. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_RLY%3F"
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