u/elnayAgnirts

Saul Goodman: Pardon me, sir, we're trying to find a host for this year's meme review. What memes have you seen?

Andy Samberg: I laughed at...

Rage Comics, Trollface
Forever Alone, Y U No Face
Double Rainbow, Bed Intruder
Rebecca Black and Nyan Cat
Bad Luck Brian, Scumbag Steve
Doge, Grumpy Cat
Harlem Shake, Gangnam Style
Overly Attached Girlfriend for a while
Pepe, MLG
Dat Boi yelling, “O shit waddup!”
This Is Fine, Arthur's fist
Damn Daniel, We Are Number One on the list
Distracted Boyfriend, Expanding Brain
Mocking SpongeBob, Ugandan Knuckles
Big Chungus, Surreal Memes
Loss, but mostly the ones with four squares
OK Boomer, Stonks
Nobody: absolutely nobody:
Coffin Dance, Among Us
Sus, Amogus
Bernie Sanders in his mittens
The Backrooms, Ohio
Morbius saying, “It's Morbin' Time,” somehow
Grimace Shake, Skibidi Toilet
Rizz, Gyatt and Sigma grindset
Fanum Tax, Baby Gronk
Hawk Tuah, Chill Guy
Tralalero Tralala
Bombardiro Crocodilo
Tung Tung Tung Sahur
and now apparently... 67!

I'm trying to solve a small but interesting mystery from early YouTube/internet history.

Rebecca Black's “Friday” was uploaded to YouTube on February 10, 2011. It apparently received only a few thousand views initially. Then, on March 11, 2011, everything changed: The Daily What posted the video, followed by Tosh.0, BuzzFeed, Twitter and other sites, and the video became a massive viral phenomenon.

According to a 2012 BuzzFeed retrospective, a person named “Shawn” submitted the video to The Daily What on March 11 with a comment to the effect of:

>“makes Justin Bieber sound like Shakespeare.”

The article then says: “No one knows who Shawn is.”

So I'm wondering:

Who was Shawn?

I'm looking for evidence from the time, rather than speculation. In particular:

• Does anyone remember seeing the original Daily What submission?
• Was Shawn's username ever publicly shown?
• Did The Daily What have a submission page/archive that preserved usernames?
• Does anyone have screenshots, archived pages, or links from March 2011?
• Did Shawn post about discovering/submitting “Friday” anywhere else?
• Was “Shawn” possibly a username, nickname, or just the name given by the site?
• Does anyone who was active on the internet in 2011 remember this particular submission?

I'm not looking for Shawn's private information (real address, phone number, workplace, etc.). I'm only interested in publicly documented information that could establish the identity of the original submitter.

The reason this is interesting is that Shawn appears to have been one of the earliest links in the chain that turned a relatively obscure YouTube video into a worldwide phenomenon. The Daily What post was followed extremely quickly by other major sites and social-media attention.

If you have a contemporaneous source, archived page, screenshot, old username, or firsthand recollection, please share it and explain where it came from.

Even a small clue could help.

TL;DR: Who was the mysterious “Shawn” who submitted Rebecca Black's Friday to The Daily What on March 11, 2011?

Ingredients

8 oz egg noodles

1 lb pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 tbsp breadcrumbs

1 tbsp chopped parsley, optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish or similar casserole.

Cook the egg noodles in salted water until just tender, then drain and set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pork belly and cook until browned and some fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the onion and cook until softened, then stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.

In a small bowl, mix the ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, vanilla extract, black pepper, and salt. Stir this into the pork mixture and cook 1 to 2 minutes until glossy. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and melted butter. Fold in the noodles, cheddar cheese, and pork mixture until evenly combined.

Spread the noodle mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Garnish with parsley if desired and serve warm.

Ingredients

8 oz egg noodles

1 lb pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 tbsp breadcrumbs

1 tbsp chopped parsley, optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish or similar casserole.

Cook the egg noodles in salted water until just tender, then drain and set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pork belly and cook until browned and some fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the onion and cook until softened, then stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.

In a small bowl, mix the ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, vanilla extract, black pepper, and salt. Stir this into the pork mixture and cook 1 to 2 minutes until glossy. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and melted butter. Fold in the noodles, cheddar cheese, and pork mixture until evenly combined.

Spread the noodle mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Garnish with parsley if desired and serve warm.