MrBeast posted a joke thumbnail in response to the viral question, can 100 men defeat a single gorilla?
MrBeast/X
Surely, a single man cannot defeat a gorilla in combat, but the internet is curious—would 100 men stand a chance?
The viral question has spread through the internet this week, sparking debate and plenty of memes.
The 100 Men Versus One Gorilla Meme, Explained
Who would win in a fight between 100 ordinary, unarmed men and a single gorilla?
The question has been asked on the internet before, but it emerged again on TikTok and X (Twitter), and attracted a wide variety of responses.
MrBeast joked about testing the outcome on YouTube, while comedian Niles Abston wrote that he was planning on “helping the gorilla,” because the job market is “overcrowded.”
The answer to the viral question might seem obvious, but has proven amusingly divisive, with the commentators arguing, consulting experts and even generating simulations to figure out the outcome.
It’s not looking good for the solitary gorilla—100 men is an absurd amount of opponents, for any creature. After all, gorillas are just strong animals, not ogres.
Some seemed to rank the gorilla as though it had the endurance of a video game boss, but others reckoned that human ingenuity (and strength of numbers) was being severely underestimated.
Perhaps the gorilla has a chance if its opponents were staggered, in a series of one-on-one battles until one of the men defeats the great ape.
Presumably, all 100 men are battling the gorilla at once, but some interpreted it as a fairer fight—perhaps the question’s ambiguity is the secret to its success.
As the discussion continued, the memes grew more elaborate.
Where Did The ‘100 Men Versus Gorilla’ Meme Come From?
The question has been asked on the internet before, and bears an uncanny resemblance to an old meme that used to circulate through Reddit—would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck?
An echo of the duck question, the man vs. gorilla fight first emerged on Reddit in 2020, in the subreddit r/whowouldwin.
Amusingly, the user that posts the question begins with an acknowledgment that “this question has been posed many times with many different numbers of men” but proposes that the subreddit “get some fresh perspective.”
Clearly, the idea of man vs. ape is a question that has plagued many over the years—it’s a concept that has been discussed in great detail on The Joe Rogan Experience, to the point where it became a meme (although, Rogan tends to focus on one-on-one bouts between humans and chimpanzees).
The effortless, terrifying strength of our great ape cousins seems to horrify and fascinate us, but gorillas are better known in the natural world as gentle giants.
An iconic moment in wildlife television saw Sir David Attenborough relaxing with a peaceful group of mountain gorillas, as one of the babies playfully tries to steal his shoe.
“There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than any other animal I know,” Attenborough said of his encounter.
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