Top Portal & Portal 2 Memes
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A guide to the most famous and funny internet memes from Portal and Portal 2
Cake, potatoes, and lemons are all very serious foodstuffs, sure, but why are they so important? And what the heck is a companion cube, or a turret? And why should anyone care that you are still alive? The Portal games are the reason that all these things are memes.
Portal (2007) is an awesome game that has become part of gamer consciousness since it was released - whether you've had a computer capable of playing it or not. Portal 2 (2011) basically took over the internet when it was released, with Google searches rivalling the number of searches for the Royal Wedding! A meme is a 'unit' of memory that spreads like a virus socially - it can be an action, a quote, a picture... And the Portal series has created several good ones.
While it is inherently funny, in a random mad science way, it's also clever. Most of the really good memes associated only work well if you know the context - the subtle psychology, GLaDOS' mind games, the moral and factual confusion of Portal itself.Even after Portal 2, we still don't actually know if GLaDOS was really trying to kill Chell.
Have You Played Portal or Portal 2 yet?
WARNING: There are SPOILERS AHEAD
Which Game Has The Best Memes?
What do you think?
Which game gave us the best memes? Portal or Portal 2?
Portal - Classic and Original
Creeping_Ender says:
Oh i go with the cake is a lie too.
Sephiron says:
Cake is a lie!
Felice says:
THE CAKE IS A LIE. The lemons were great, but that line can't be topped.
Darklag says:
Portal
Invader Kiwi says:
Portal 2 was brilliant, but Portal was classic, gave me chills with occasional laughter (as opposed to the other way around in the sequel) and was downright awesome. And I'll never forgive myself for incinerating my dear companion cube.... *sniffle*
lilly says:
Nothing is better than good ol' companion cube and cake.
Alex says:
Honestly Portal 2 had much more material, but it pretty much had to in order to follow the Classic Portal.
Honestly, "the cake is a lie" is so popular and ingrained in everyone's minds ... and it wasn't even mentioned (from what I remember) in Portal 2.
IDKWtsIt2U says:
the new one was funnier, but the first one was hands down evil
Vader says:
The cake is a lie!
Portal 2 - New and Improved!
max olsan says:
portal two
Nyx says:
Portal 2 has Wheatley.
Creeping_Ender says:
The best meme is when cave johnson talks about lemons burning your house down.
spacaramo101 says:
wanna go to space people?! SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!
Toshi9590 says:
I made the dumb decision to buy Portal 2, beat it, and then go back to Portal, so i was disappointed at Portal compared to Portal 2. Portal 2 is the best, in my opinion, and i hope they come out with a third!
box turret627 says:
PORTAL 2 HAD FRANKENTURRETS! FRANKENTURRETS I SAY HOW CAN YOUVOTE AGAINST THEM!!!!!?????
blueportal962 says:
I think the portal 2 oracle turret was the best because about 99% of portal players like the turrets (there so cute) and now we have a friendly PHYCIC turret (I wish you had 2 take him/her throgh the whole game) portal was epic as well and chamber 17 was cool (until the end but portal 2 fixes that) I want a pet turret in real life emasapation grids/grills suck. TURRET 4 THE WIN!!!!!!!
Cave Johnson says:
COMBUSTIBLE.FRIGGIN.LEMONS. You can't argue with that.
Cave Johnson, we're done here.
Gabriel says:
Portal 2
joe says:
i hate test shit and half life
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Want to read more about a meme? Check out the Top Portal and Portal 2 Portal Memes table of contents just below this list!
The Top Portal and Portal 2 Portal Memes
A list of nine awesome memes from Portal and Portal 2
The Lemons Rant
A rant from Cave Johnson, who doesn't believe in accepting life's lemons
Cave Johnson's lemons rant became an instant internet hit. I hope it becomes the new Rickroll.
Context: Cave Johnson is the CEO of Aperture Science and he likes to get involved... so, he had himself recorded giving out the welcome spiel and testing instructions. During the course of this he mentions he is dying because he handled the (apparently) poisonous deadly moon rocks used in making Repulsion Gel. His official biography previously blamed mercury poisoning, after he tried to make murderous shower curtains for the Navy suppliers who chose not to buy his shower curtains.
Anyway, he mentions he's dying and quotes the old phrase "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Later on, however, he says actually, he's been thinking, and then comes...
TF2: Cave Johnson
Combustible Lemons Launcher
by ~forte-girl7 on deviantART
When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take back the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What the hell are these?! Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's gonna burn your house down! WITH THE LEMONS! I'm gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that BURNS YOUR HOUSE DOWN!
Choice highlight quotes to use in conversation:
- Make life take the lemons back!
- Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons!
- I'm the man who's gonna burn your house down! WITH THE LEMONS!
Bonus: GLaDOS' commentary.
- "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Don't take the lemons! Yeah! Oh, I like this guy! Yeah! BURN HIS HOUSE DOWN! Burning people! He says what we're all thinking!"
About Cave Johnson
All About Cave Johnson! His history, his memos, his quotes and his personality.
The Joy of Combustible Lemons is Spreading
Cave Johnson (Character)
Cave Johnson (Character) on IMDb: Movies, TV, Cele more...0 points
Cave Johnson - Combine OverWiki, the Half-Life and Portal wiki - Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Portal, Portal 2, Episode Three, and everything behind-the-scenes!
Cave Johnson was the founder and CEO of Aperture S more...0 points
"Combustible Lemons" T-Shirt Design by suddendamage | RedBubble
Buy 'Combustible Lemons' by suddendamage as a T-Sh more...0 points
Recent News About Cave Johnson's Lemons
When Life Gives You Lemons... by NZPhotography
View other Lemon Mugs
Still Alive
The credits song from the original Portal
It is both a good song in itself, funny, clever and haunting - but in the wider context of Portal, it takes on meaning. For example, who the singer is, the references to cake, testing on the people still alive (I mean - are there even any other people?).
While true fans can sing the lyrics entire, the main meme comes from the title and repeated threat/promise/boast of the two words... "still alive".
And they were also a promise of more - sure, you won. You killed GLaDOS. But now it seems she's writing up a report? Was it all part of the plan, or did she really just improvise her way into forcing you to fight back? Did she intend to die? Was there going to be a second game?
Essentially, there are three possibilities: Is it a hauntingly creepy song from beyond the grave, or is GLaDOS simply watching you from a BIGGER test chamber (so to speak), now plotting new tests? Or was it all real, in the end, and she managed to escape and is now plotting vengeance instead?
As is now known from Portal 2, she did survive, but barely, and was trapped in a loop sequence of her death for the next few centuries. She is indeed still alive, and boy, is Chell in trouble.
How to use:
- Simply works the words 'still alive' naturally into a sentence.
- Create a parody of the song
Or use a longer quote:
- This was a triumph
- There's science to do
- I'm making a note here:HUGE SUCCESS
Portal 2 has at least three songs associated with it so far: two official and this fan-created one, by far the most awesome of the lot - Wheatley's Song.
About "Still Alive"
More about the song "Still Alive" (lyrics, sheet music, story and more!)
Recent References To "Still Alive"
The Cake is a Lie
False promises of real rewards to motivate the test subject.
The Cake is a major feature of the first Portal game, notable mostly by its absence. Throughout the game, the player is constantly promised cake - and then threatened by the fact that others are eating it "...and all the cake is gone". However, on the walls you see graffiti left by previous players warning you that 'the cake is a lie'. And yet... no other test subject has ever completed the test. Perhaps it is impossible to survive, and so GLaDOS can safely promise cake - perhaps they gave up hope or went mad? Perhaps they chose to believe there was no cake in order to try and escape GLaDOS?
The cake is used as a motivator for Chell to behave and to do well - but becomes increasingly less useful as GLaDOS tries to kill you. This means GLaDOS belabours the wonderful cake that is awaiting you even more, to the point where it reaches almost mystical importance.
The Cake has become a symbol of false promises, a sort of 'straw man' reward that isn't necessarily useful or wanted, but offered anyway - and not to be trusted.
- GLaDOS Quotes about the Cake
Cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of the test.
Cake Recipe
During the boss battle with GLaDOS, one of her cores will recite a long list of ingredients, which make up the recipe for the cake (with a few... extras.) There is also an Easter Egg of a large monitor, with the recipe scrolling on it (among various bits of code). This does actually make a real cake, something like a Black Forest cake.
1 (18.25 oz) package chocolate cake mix
1 can prepared coconut frosting
3/4 cups vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cups water
1 to 2 (6 oz each) vanilla frosting
Don't forget garnishes, such as:
fish shaped crackers
fish shaped candies
fish shaped dirt
fish shaped solid waste
fish shaped ethyl benzene
pull and peel licorice
fish shaped volatile organic compounds
sediment shaped sediment
a 20-foot thick impermeable clay layer
Cake Credits Easter Egg Scene
As she 'dies', GLaDOS cries "There reeeaaaallly waas a caake!"
And later, as the game ends, there's an Easter egg scene of a store room somewhere, apparently abandoned, with an anormous chocolate cake sitting on a table.
As part of the general multilayered deception that is GLaDOS, it's possible she did intend to give you the cake. Or that she was supposed to, and the same cake had been sitting in a storage room going solid with age. The bonus appearance of cake in the trailer also features the Companion Cube, which... was allegedly destroyed, but was apparently still alive after all. Or perhaps they were just props to make a nice related ending scene. Who knows?
The Cake is A Lie in Portal 2
In Portal 2, there is no graffiti and no cake. Valve wanted to make new memes rather than recycle the old ones. They did refer to it, though...
Near the end of the testing chambers, you reach a room with a door. A real door, which is a little unusual in the slick high tech architecture of Aperture Laboratories. And on the door, it says "
Try and open it, and you will discover it is a false offering! (I.e. A Lie) And then the room becomes a trap, while GLaDOS mocks you for falling for such an old promise.
Also starting to gain popularity is The deer is a lie - which is basically the same meme, just updated to include a direct reference to Portal 2 (when Wheatley tells you that there is a deer. Obviously there isn't).
How to use:
- Simply say "the Cake is a lie" randomly, whenever cake is mentioned, or as a paranoic commentary on the likelihood of ever getting a reward - or Lies! (Whenever the word 'cake' appears)
- Describe something as being 'So delicious and moist' [description of the cake during the song Still Alive]
- Compare how much you care about something to cake (implying that cake is the ultimate reward)
- Make a REAL cake
- Talk about it in real life
- Inverted:
- The cake is truth
- The cake is not a lie
- There really was a cake.
The Cake Is A Lie - Television Tropes & Idioms
The The Cake Is A Lie trope as used in popular cul more...0 points
The Cake Is Not A Lie - Achievement - World of Warcraft
Bake a Delicious Chocolate Cake.0 points
The Cake Is a Lie | Know Your Meme
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The Different Turret
It's a Turret, but it's different.
Portal players have a twisted affection for Turrets. In-game, they are extensions of GLaDOs, spies, minions of evil to be exploded, dropped and crushed at every opportunity before they seek you out with laser guided bullets.Out of game, they are sympathised with - helplessly weaponised innocents, controlled by an insane AI. This is enhanced by their childlike voices, as they call out "HELlooo", apologise for hurting you, and scream pitifully as they are destroyed. They get a lot more dialogue in Portal 2, especially when you find the production line and the defective turrets. The defective turrets have a much wider range of personalities, from friendly to pitiful, to... well. Insane and destructive. And then, there's the Different Turret.
The Different Turret is just one of many on the disassembly line, and players may careless destroy it in passing before they realise. But if you pay attention you'll hear a plaintive
"I'm different..."
The Different Turret is a pacifist, and if you carry it away it will thank you for being rescued and spout random semi-prophetic facts and trivia related to the wider history and setting of the game, and some of the future storyline. There's an in-game Achievement called No Hard Feelings for rescuing it.
My Bonus Conspiracy Theory
Memes are like mental viruses. Turrets look like a stereotypical virus. Turrets were designed to spread Portalness through the internet!
The Different Turret on the Turret Redemption Line
Meme Usage
Usually just a straightforward quote.
- I'm different...
Interactive Talking Plus Portal Turret
SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE
The Space Core. It's obsessed with getting into space.
The Aperture Science AIs are composed of 'cores' - each with a distinct function and personality. In Portal 2, attaching various corrupted cores disables Wheatley, and one of these is the Space Core. The poor thing has spent its entire existence waiting to get into space and perform the functions for which it was designed, so by this point it has a pretty one track mind.He's voiced by Nolan North.
Memeage
Simply throw in one of the Space Core's most spaced out quotes, such as:
- SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE
- Gonna be in space. Gonna be in space.
- just because i can't respond to my emails, doesn't mean I can't EAT them
- Hey.
Hey.
Hey!
Hey! Lady!
Lady!
Guess what?
Space. - Dad, are you space?
About the Space Core
Space Core Facebook Fanpage
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SPAAAAAACE!
The Space Core on Tumblr0 points
COREONEONAKEYBOARDINSPACE
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I'M A POTATO
GLaDOS gets a downgrade and isn't happy about it
Context: GLaDOS' CPU unit (or equivalent) has been plugged into... yes. A potato. As an act of vengeance, cruelty -and possibly even accidental practicality - by Wheatley. There is a little bit of starch-based energy in a potato, but very little.
Wheatley has a temper tantrum when GLaDOS tells him he was actually designed to be a moron in order to control her (allegedly) and smashes the floor up. Chell and GLaDOS-the-Potato end up falling rather a long way, during which GLaDOS says Hi. How are you? Because I'M A POTATO.
Other potato appearances:
- a little tour around some ancient children's science projects (including a picture by Chell) includes a potato one
- Potatoes were a theme of Portal 2 release stunts such as the Valve PotatoFoolsDay ARG (the Potato Sack Pack)
Table of Contents: If you get lost, please assume the party escort submission position and await further instructions (or you will miss the party!)
The Weighted Companion Cube
It will never stab you nor threaten you. And yet you murdered it.
More than just a character, the mute and beloved Weighted Companion Cube from Portal became a meme in its own right. And, in fact, a Trope as well - the 'Trope' of treating a completely inanimate object as a character with feelings and personality. Something that GLaDOS herself warns you against...
- "The symptoms most commonly produced by Enrichment Center testing are superstition, perceiving inanimate objects as alive, and hallucinations.
During the game, as part of learning how to use the Cubes to solve tests, you are introduced to a Cube that is different. It is a Companion Cube, it is your friend and it cares about you. You have to safely escort it through another test chamber - and then you must destroy it. No, not destroy - euthanize. A word that applies to living beings.
It is much beloved by the test subjects - and the subject of two graffiti parody poems "...The cube had food and maybe ammo.
And immortality" and "Though earth and man are gone, I thought the cube would last forever. I was WRONG." It is also a hallucinatory friend to Doug Rattman in the Portal 2 prelude comic Lab Rat.
How to perpetuate this meme
- Quote/ misquote directly from one of GLaDOS' speeches about the Cube, or work in one of the main themes below.
- Create a real Companion Cube drawing, cake, toy, paper model or other craft item. (Check out How to Make Your Own Companion Cube).
- The main 'themes' of the Weighted Companion Cube are:
- It cannot speak
- It cannot harm you
- It will never threaten to stab you
- You should always disregard its advice (except that you know GLaDOS is lying, so the cube is your friend, so you should actually LISTEN to its advice. Probably)
- It requires a companion
- You murdered it
- The Enrichment Center reminds you that the Companion Cube cannot speak. In the event that the Companion Cube does speak, the Enrichment Center urges you to disregard its advice.
- While it has been a faithful companion, your companion cube cannot accompany you through the rest of the test. If it could talk - and the Enrichment Center takes this opportunity to remind you that it cannot - it would tell you to go on without it because it would rather die in a fire than become a burden to you
- There was even going to be a party for you. A big party that all your friends were invited to. I invited your best friend the Companion Cube. Of course, he couldn't come because you murdered him
Companion Cube Quotes
About the Weighted Companion Cube
Companion Cube - Television Tropes & Idioms
The Companion Cube trope as used in popular cultur more...0 points
For Science. You Monster
GLaDOS is dedicated to Science, and will graciously almost forgive Chell for defending herself against GLaDOS trying to viciously murder her.
"Look, we both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science... you monster." - GLaDOS, to Chell
Meme Usage:
Generally, just throw out part of the quote, depending on the discussion. For Science implies a bit of mad science, or 'we'll do what we must because we can'-ness, and has actually been around awhile.
You monster is just deadpan funny to those who remember GLaDOS saying it, and the fact that she was trying to kill the person she was saying it to. Works best when added completely off-handedly.
- You Monster
- For Science
You Monster - Television Tropes & Idioms
The You Monster trope as used in popular culture, more...0 points
For Science! - Television Tropes & Idioms
The For Science trope as used in popular culture, more...0 points
Now You're Thinking With Portals!
A general catchphrase of Aperture Science
It's not exactly a meme, and it's not hugely funny or clever, but it is representative of Aperture Science itself - which IS hugely funny and clever.
How To Use
- Work the phrase 'Thinking With Portals' into a title or discussion. It's most commonly used as a recognisable 'we are all awesome Aperture Science people here' title.
- Use as a caption to an image that appears to have Portals in it somehow
Now You're Thinking With Portals
A classic example of this meme (source unknown).
Who Else Is Recently Thinking With Portals?
Table of Contents: Thank you for assuming the party escort submission position - follow further instructions below to the party!
see more Very Demotivational
Which is the Best Original Portal Meme?
Which of the original Portal memes is the best?
Which Is the Greatest Portal 2 Meme?
Do you have a favourite?
The Portal Games
Recent News on Portal Memes
- Sunday Sound-Off: Reflections on E3's Past
- In addition, buying the PS3 version of Portal 2 also meant you got the PC version, which is a step in the right direction in non-platform dependent software. Imagine a world when you could not worry about which system to get a cross platform third ...
- Pandora Helps College Grad Propose To Girlfriend Of 6 Years
- "I saw that guy propose through Portal and the one with the internet memes, and I knew I had to do something along those lines." Genius struck when Maggie bought a Hyundai Veloster with a built-in Pandora app. Kyle sent a general support request to ...
- Can Schools Regulate Students' Facebook Activity?
- With memes targeted at teachers, as well as the aftermath of countless drunken party nights littering Facebook's Sunday morning newsfeed, students should consider their privacy settings before posting statuses or photos of themselves or others online.
- Viral Video: Does it Matter?
- Video is already a killer app for social networks, and social sharing certainly is a major contributor to most viral memes. Although it is possible to create highly shareable videos, having a video 'go viral' is impossible to plan.
Guestbook
Which is YOUR favourite Portal/Portal 2 meme?
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
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RandomChuck
Mar 12, 2012 @ 1:29 pm | delete
- Sweet lens. "Lemonades" Lol
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Mistel
Feb 29, 2012 @ 7:42 am | delete
- Love the Portal credit song, heard on loop during a summer vacation right after the game came out. Great memory and such a cool game.
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toldyaso
Dec 7, 2011 @ 3:42 pm | delete
- I love, love, LOVE the turrets. They are so frickin' cute. "Could you come over here?" Sure, that sounds like a logical request coming from something that wants to gun me down! lol
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