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CultureQuiet 5d · day 6

Ancient Yemeni Stele's Cartoonish Face Goes Viral on Bluesky

A photo of a 3rd–1st century BCE Yemeni anthropomorphic stele draws thousands of comedic comparisons to Clippy, the Muppets and Han Solo.

newest coverage 5d agosummary written 5d ago29 pieces3.9k likes & upvotes84 comments Bluesky

What to know

  • A photo of a 3rd–1st century BCE Yemeni anthropomorphic stele posted to Bluesky drew nearly 3,000 likes and dozens of comments.
  • The conversation is almost entirely comedic, comparing the ancient carving's face to modern characters like Clippy, the Muppets and Han Solo, rather than discussing its archaeological context.
  • A few commenters raised genuine questions about Yemen's ancient trade history and whether the object was made locally or acquired through trade.
most voices

The stele's face resembles modern cartoon or pop-culture characters like Clippy, Muppets, or anime figures.

  • “Ancient Yemeni Muppet technology, while very advanced for its time, was held back by the shortage of people able to lift the stones”

    essaywells.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
many voices

The stern-looking figure makes viewers feel judged or inadequate by comparison.

  • “I want this in my entrance hall. Just so everyone who enters our house feels judged as unworthy by the 2000+ years old clay tablet.”

    evgo7311.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
some voices

Genuine curiosity about ancient Yemeni history, culture, and trade networks.

  • “Yemeni culture is a very old culture, queen of saba, coffee beans originated there”

    gra3742.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗

pmamtraveller.bsky.social Bluesky user who posted the imageessaywells.bsky.social commenterapuppyisanangel.bsky.social commenter

Ancient Yemeni Stele's Cartoonish Face Goes Viral on Bluesky
bsky.app

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments

Peak 11 pieces in two hours at Sep 19, 2 PM; 29 pieces over 6 days (1 post · 28 comments) Sep 19, 2 PM — 11 pieces · 1 post · 10 comments — Bluesky 11Sep 19, 4 PM — 8 pieces · 8 comments — Bluesky 8Sep 19, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 2 comments — Bluesky 2Sep 19, 8 PM — 5 pieces · 5 comments — Bluesky 5Sep 19, 10 PM — 2 pieces · 2 comments — Bluesky 2Sep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Bluesky 1Sep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 23, 12 AM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 4 AM — quietSep 23, 6 AM — quietSep 23, 8 AM — quietSep 23, 10 AM — quietSep 23, 12 PM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — quietSep 23, 4 PM — quietSep 23, 6 PM — quietSep 23, 8 PM — quietSep 23, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 1–23
Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23yesterdaynow · 12:00 PM ET
  1. 3

    Joke thread continues into following day

    Comments keep arriving over 24+ hours, including a comparison to the anime character Jelly Jiggler and questions about the stele's origins amid ancient trade networks.

    ““This is all you’ve done in 2300 years?!””
    — mrxeng.bsky.social, Bluesky commenter · source

    • hard knowing i’ll never meet the expectations of an ancient stone tablet

      ranavir.comBluesky5d ago3▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 10 posts in this stretch

    • Or maybe Bernd's grandfather? @tommykrappweis.de What do you think?

      ardenwinters.bsky.socialBluesky5d ago3▲view on Bluesky ↗

    • Clippy. The Fifth Element is o.g. Clippy. It probably looks a lot cooler posted in Arabic

      eighthsamurai.bsky.socialBluesky5d ago1▲view on Bluesky ↗
    all of them →
  2. 2

    Commenters flood post with pop-culture comparisons

    Within hours, replies compare the carved face to Clippy, the Muppets' Sam Eagle, Han Solo, the Dire Straits 'Money for Nothing' figure, and other cartoon characters, turning the archaeological post into a meme thread.

    “Ancient Yemeni Muppet technology, while very advanced for its time, was held back by the shortage of people able to lift the stones…”
    — essaywells.bsky.social

    • "It looks like you are going to write on this clay tablet.Would you like help with your stylus?"

      sarahisathome.bsky.socialBluesky5d ago109▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 18 posts in this stretch

    • I want this in my entrance hall. Just so everyone who enters our house feels judged as unworthy by the 2000+ years old clay tablet.

      evgo7311.bsky.socialBluesky5d ago35▲view on Bluesky ↗

    • Me looking at my husband when he chews with his mouth open

      6to12elbow.bsky.socialBluesky5d ago25▲view on Bluesky ↗
    all of them →
  3. 1

    Bluesky user posts photo of Yemeni anthropomorphic stele

    pmamtraveller.bsky.social shares an image captioned "Yemeni Anthropomorphic Stele (3rd–1st Century BCE)", which quickly accumulates thousands of likes.

What people are saying 16 voices from 1 site · best of 29 · verbatim

Still unanswered
  • Was this item made in Yemen or traded there given the region's ancient trade networks?