The most unexpected popculture icon of the last decade?

[Martinus]

I'm not talking about people but symbols. Like the nazi swastika or the can of Campbell soup from Warhol paintings. What is the most unexpected icon that paved its way into mass popculture awareness of the last decade?

To me it's the Guy Fawkes's mask from "V for Vendetta". It's nearly ubiquituous (today Polish opposition party members wore it in a Polish Parliament - of all places  - to protest against Poland signing ACTA - an international treaty introducing similar measures as SOPA) and like any good popculture icons, it seems to be used by people who are apparently completely unaware of its origins or context.

[The Brain]

Never encountered the mask.

[Darth Wagtaros]

That mass murdering commie Che guy's shirt graces the t-shirts of dirtbags everywhere.

[Grey Fox]

That mass murdering commie Che guy's shirt graces the t-shirts of dirtbags everywhere.

They are not dirtbags, they are Cubans & he's an hero to them.

Seriously, they peedle you his face on fucking everything at every corner. It's annoying at best.

[Josephus]

That mass murdering commie Che guy's shirt graces the t-shirts of dirtbags everywhere.

The last decade? That's been around for a while.

[Razgovory]

Don't see it much in the US.  Did see it in Euroland.  Some of the stuff that is popular on the net has found a life outside the computers.  Which I find weird.

[Martinus]

That mass murdering commie Che guy's shirt graces the t-shirts of dirtbags everywhere.

The last decade? That's been around for a while.

What he said. In fact I think it's not as popular anymore like it used in the 90s.

[Monoriu]

Apple and everything associated with it.

[DGuller]

Apple and everything associated with it.

How original.    I was going to say Apple myself.

[Brazen]

Apple and everything associated with it.

How original.    I was going to say Apple myself.

That's not really unexpected. The Linux penguin, however, is. Just saw a guy with it on a t-shirt.

[Brazen]

I would put forward particle physicist Prof Brian Cox as most unexpected pop-culture icon of the last decade. Once the keyboard player in a 90s pop group whose one-hit-wonder song was held responsible  for Labour's last general election win, he has become far more famous as a popular TV physicist. 


Here's just one of the t-shirts you can get:

[Admiral Yi]

That's a dude??

[Brazen]

That's a dude??

Yeah, ain't he purdy?

Just read back and saw "no people". Ah well, it gave me free rein to Google Cox pictures

[garbon]

I only know of Marti's first thing as something that actually happened in the past decade. The others either started earlier or I've never heard of.

[Gups]

That's a dude??

Yeah, ain't he purdy?

Just read back and saw "no people". Ah well, it gave me free rein to Google Cox pictures

You're a wife of Brian, would have guessed it...

I think Labour probably lost votes in 97 thanks to that bloody awful song.