100 men versus a gorilla

Thought experiment and Internet meme June 2025 right vertical 250 Bokito (cropped).jpg Bokito, a male silverback western gorilla 100 men.png 100 men in military training at Miami University, January 1919This photo is digitally altered; there are 103 men in the original image. "100 men versus a gorilla" is a satirical thought experiment originating from the Internet concerning the winner of a hypothetical battle between one hundred male humans and a silverback gorilla.Yang Angela The internet is brawling over whether 100 men could fight a gorilla https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/100-men-fight-gorrilla-viral-question-rcna203764 2 May 2025 NBC News 1 May 2025Stein Michelle Robert Irwin Sends a Bold Message About Viral 'Man vs. Gorilla' Debate https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/robert-irwin-sends-bold-message-145439036.html Yahoo! Entertainment 6 May 2025 Parade 8 May 2025 It typically assumes that the men are unarmed.https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/04/29/would-100-men-or-one-gorilla-win-in-a-fight-heres-what-experts-say-about-viral-question/ Would 100 Men Or One Gorilla Win In A Fight? Here's What Experts Say About Viral Question Conor Murray Forbes First recorded in a Reddit post in 2020, it inspired internet memes upon gaining newfound popularity in 2025. History The question's first known appearance was on the subreddit r/whowouldwin in a 2020 post by u/probablycashed.Mather Katie 100 men vs. 1 gorilla: Who would win? A primatology expert addresses the viral debate. https://www.yahoo.com/news/100-men-vs-1-gorilla-who-would-win-a-primatology-expert-addresses-the-viral-debate-201209014.html 1 May 2025 Yahoo! News 30 April 2025López Restrepo Manuela Venkat Mia Chang Ailsa Troop William Gorillas Have a Big Fight Ahead of Them, and It's Not Against 100 Men, Expert Says https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5382391/gorilla-100-men-viral-debate 3 May 2025 All Things Considered NPR 2 May 2025 The question went viral on TikTok in 2022.Debbarma Sauramita Everything Goes Wrong as Jake Paul's Attempt to Settle Gorilla Fight Debate Sends Internet into Frenzy https://www.essentiallysports.com/boxing-news-everything-goes-wrong-as-jake-paul-s-attempt-to-settle-gorilla-fight-debate-sends-internet-into-frenzy/ 27 May 2025 EssentiallySports 26 May 2025 In April 2025, the question went viral again on Twitter, and then spread to Facebook and YouTube.https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/29/100-men-v-one-gorilla-who-would-win-and-why-has-the-question-gone-viral 100 men v one gorilla: who would win – and why has the question gone viral? The Guardian 29 April 2025 Scientific assessment Tara Stoinski, president of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, said that people often overestimate the power of gorillas, saying that despite gorillas having strong muscles and jaws, these traits are used more for protection than a hunting attack. She thought that a large group of humans could use their ability to cooperate and coordinate, taking turns to attack, to "prolong a battle that could eventually wear a gorilla out".Encinas Amaris Who wins in a fight between 100 men and 1 gorilla? Expert weighs in on viral debate https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/04/30/experts-discuss-100-men-vs-gorilla/83367073007/ 2 May 2025 USA Today 30 April 2025 Primatologist Michelle Rodrigues agreed that gorillas are "not typically aggressive" and "pick their battles", and that in this situation a gorilla would try to flee. Ron Magill, communications director of Zoo Miami, believed that human attackers could win by "working together to envelop the gorilla and create a human straightjacket", but would suffer some deaths and serious injuries from concussion, bite wounds and broken necks.Klee Miles Could 100 Men Beat a Gorilla in a Fight? Here's What Primatologists Say https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/100-men-gorilla-debate-who-would-win-1235327636/ 3 May 2025 Rolling Stone 29 April 2025 Primatologist Cat Hobaiter argued that if the human attackers were prevented from rushing the gorilla simultaneously and were required to attack one by one, they "wouldn't stand a chance". Reception The hypothetical question has received attention from popular news organizations and celebrities. Montana senator Tim Sheehy stated in a Twitter video that he thought the men would "clearly win", although suffering "a high casualty rate".Suter Tara Sen. Sheehy joins viral debate over 100 men vs. a gorilla https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5276406-sen-sheehy-100-men-vs-gorilla/ 2 May 2025 The Hill 30 April 2025 On 1 May 2025, the official White House Twitter account referenced the debate in a tweet with the following: "100 men vs 1 gorilla is still up for debate. Meanwhile, 142,000+ illegal alien criminals went up against 1 President Trump — They all got deported.🤭" accompanied with an AI-generated picture of many illegal immigrants boarding a plane, referencing Trump's immigration policies.The White House White House WhiteHouse 1918057198023741752 100 men vs 1 gorilla is still up for debate. Meanwhile, 142,000+ illegal alien criminals went up against 1 President Trump — They all got deported. 🤭 https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1918057198023741752 live https://archive.today/20250504101616/https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1918057198023741752 4 May 2025 3 August 2025How The White House Turned Viral Gorilla Debate About Immigration https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/how-the-white-house-turned-viral-gorilla-debate-about-immigration-8312604 27 May 2025 NDTV 2 May 2025Vaidyanathan Vaishnavi White House joins '100 men vs. gorilla' trend with Trump's immigration record: '142K illegal immigrants vs. Trump' https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/white-house-joins-100-men-vs-gorilla-trend-with-trumps-immigration-record-142k-illegal-immigrants-vs-trump-101746139557817.html 27 May 2025 Hindustan Times 2 May 2025 The conservationist Robert Irwin responded that people should be working out how many people are needed to protect an endangered species.Miller Brittany 9 May 2025 Robert Irwin weighs in on 100 men vs gorilla debate https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/robert-irwin-100-men-gorilla-fight-b2748094.html 10 May 2025 The Independent Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International representatives hoped that the meme would spark interest in gorilla conservation efforts. Jake Paul posted an Instagram video of himself with a gorilla in the background. In the video, Paul declared that "it's time to end the debate", implying he wanted to fight the gorilla. His post resulted in ridicule, with many commentors saying Paul could not take on one gorilla. One user stated that Paul should "come back later when the gorilla retires," referring to Paul's 2024 boxing match against Mike Tyson. The YouTube personality MrBeast posted a joke tweet asking for 100 male volunteers to take on the hypothetical challenge of fighting a gorilla. This tweet received over 17 million views and sparked widespread discussion on social media platforms.Raiken Amber 2 May 2025 The internet is obsessed with one question: Could 100 men beat a gorilla in a fight? https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/100-men-v-1-gorilla-viral-debate-b2743594.html The Independent Elon Musk's response to MrBeast's tweet was "Sure, what's the worst that could happen?" Animal rights organization PETA criticized MrBeast for the tweet, suggesting that he should leave animals out of his content.MrBeast's bizarre '100 men vs a Gorilla' tweet ignites hilarious social media debate. But here's what PETA had to say https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/mrbeasts-bizarre-gorilla-vs-100-humans-tweet-ignites-hilarious-social-media-debate-but-heres-what-peta-had-to-say/articleshow/120768418.cms The Economic Times 30 April 2025 ET OnlineYouTuber MrBeast's 'Gorilla post' sparks backlash from PETA: Maybe try 100 reasons to leave... https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/social/mrbeasts-gorilla-post-sparks-backlash-from-peta-maybe-try-100-reasons-to-leave/articleshow/120730413.cms TOI Tech Desk The Times of India 29 April 2025 In video games Blizzard Entertainment announced a special livestream of the video game Overwatch 2 for 6 May 2025, in which 100 Soldier 76es would fight the gorilla character Winston.Fanelli Jason Overwatch 2 Will Weigh In on the 'One Gorilla vs. 100 Humans' Meme in Special Livestream https://www.gamespot.com/articles/overwatch-2-will-weigh-in-on-the-one-gorilla-vs-100-humans-meme-in-special-livestream/1100-6531319/ Gamespot 6 May 2025Hartley Lila 1 Gorilla vs 100 Soldiers: Overwatch's Wildest Showdown Yet https://happygamer.com/1-gorilla-vs-100-soldiers-overwatchs-wildest-showdown-yet-118315/ 24 May 2025 HappyGamer 2 May 2025 Scott Duwe, a staff writer at Destructoid, asked editors and writers if 100 Marios could beat one Donkey Kong. Some thought Donkey Kong would easily charge and beat many of the Marios, while some interviewed thought the Marios would win.Duwe Scott 30 April 2025 Who would win? 100 Marios vs one Donkey Kong https://www.destructoid.com/who-would-win-100-marios-vs-one-donkey-kong/ Destructoid 24 May 2025 See also Harambe, a silverback gorilla that also became the subject of Internet memes Man or bear, another Internet thought experiment Notes References Category:2025 in Internet culture Category:Critical thinking Category:Internet memes introduced in 2020 Category:Culture of Reddit Category:Satirical thought experiments Category:Works about gorillas Category:Works about men