The world was forever changed Thursday night when the Syfy Channel debuted instant television classic Sharknado.
Anyone on Twitter needs no explanation about the phenomenon, because the TV movie absolutely flooded the social network. NBCUniversal reports that Sharknado has become the most "social program on all of television –- broadcast and cable –- as well as Syfy’s most social telecast ever."
At its peak, the movie was generating 5,000 tweets a minute. And with a total of 387,000 social mentions, it came just under hitting the social mentions of the Game of Thrones' shocking "Red Wedding" episode.
Of course, Syfy -- riding this wave as long as possible -- is already in talks to make a sequel. The network also plans to re-air Sharknado on July 18.
And while Hollywood execs will forever be scratching their heads about not making this ridiculous movie first, the rest of us are just happy to have witnessed those epic WTF moments. In case you were one of the sad few who missed the cultural movement, the premise of the movie can be summed up via this Vine:
Tara Reid and Ian Ziering (of Beverly Hills 90210) co-starred alongside the flying sharks, creating the perfect brew for Twitter comedy. Everyone from Mia Farrow to Damon Lindelof (and probably your grandmother) had a shark-related joke to share. And the Internet totally devoured it.
1.This is how I knew today would be CRAZY. #sharknado pic.twitter.com/8BNogjkR6G— Mockstar Photog (@mockstarphotog) July 12, 2013
2.If you watch Sharknado backwards, it's about shark carcasses that fly off the ground, into the air, spit out people and land in the ocean.— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) July 12, 2013
3.America: The Empire gave you tea, civilisation and the English language - and you responded with #Sharknado.— The Dowager Countess (@theLadyGrantham) July 12, 2013
4.Hey @espn, thoughts on showing more hockey highlights?— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) July 12, 2013
5.I'm surprised that Ian Ziering didn't reach back into that shark's guts and pull out an Oscar for Best Picture. #SharkNado.— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattCSN) July 12, 2013
6.Can't wait to see how @MSNBC & @FoxNews cover this developing #Sharknado story.— Judah Friedlander (@JudahWorldChamp) July 12, 2013
7.Forget BC. Forget AD. Welcome to the year 1 AS (Anno #Sharknado--in the year of #Sharknado)— Nell Scovell (@NellSco) July 12, 2013
8.Well the one thing we can all agree on...if #Sharknado was to happen, the #GOP House would block the relief aid.— Matty J (@Dem0crats) July 12, 2013
9.My thoughts on #SharkNado. (pic via @MattDevitt_WSAV) pic.twitter.com/wMixkLH9Qe— Jacob Wycoff (@4cast4you) July 12, 2013
10.Thanks for watching #Sharknado with me. I'm going to work on my screenplay for Vaginaconda.— Judah Friedlander (@JudahWorldChamp) July 12, 2013
11.I wish I could join in on the shenanigans, But I had a cousin that was killed by a #Sharknado back in '93. #RamonRIP— Horatio Sanz (@MrHoratioSanz) July 12, 2013
12.I'm afraid that now when we have a real sharknado everyone's going to treat it like a joke— B.J. Novak (@bjnovak) July 12, 2013
13.I'm not so sure about the science in this movie you guys. #SharkNado— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) July 12, 2013
14.Judging by my Twitter feed, Sharknado is the most politically uniting thing to happen to America for a decade.— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) July 12, 2013
15.We are lucky we pressured Gaddafi to give up his #SharkNado program in 2003 or he still might be in power today.— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) July 12, 2013
16.Finally, a natural disaster that makes Aquaman useful. #sharknado— kelly oxford (@kellyoxford) July 12, 2013
17.I hear Edward Snowden has agreed to come back to the USA, on condition that he is allowed to watch #SharkNado. Dont have SyFy in Moscow.— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) July 12, 2013
18.Can't watch #Sharknado because I'm on the set of my new film Tsunamwolf.— Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) July 12, 2013
19.Amazing sunset happening in Los Angeles right now, people. Get out and celebrate our #SharkNado survival.— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) July 12, 2013
20.Based on the Twitter attention it got, SHARKNADO is our Arab Spring.— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) July 12, 2013
21.BREAKING: North Korea has tested #sharknado capabilities.— Raven Brooks (@ravenb) July 12, 2013
22.You get the feeling they said this a lot during filming "Eh, we'll fix it later. It'll look fine." #Sharknado— Eric Stangel (@EricStangel) July 12, 2013
23.I hate all these bandwagon fans watching #Sharknado on TV who didn't read all the books first— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) July 12, 2013
24.We're ready to respond if there is a #Sharknado. If it were to happen, it would be in Oklahoma. Why? Because we're tough like that.— Red Cross Oklahoma (@redcrossokc) July 12, 2013
25.Commercials giving me a chance to reflect on secondary, even tertiary levels of #Sharknado.— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyanTV) July 12, 2013
26.I wonder how many people are adding "...and I would chainsaw you out of a shark..." to their wedding vows?— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) July 12, 2013
27.Carnage-filled death water actually prompted a menstruation joke. I expect sharks to issue a statement distancing themselves. #SharkNado— Go Fug Yourself (@fuggirls) July 12, 2013