Name: Pebbling.
Age: Gentoo penguins have been doing it pre-social media.
Did life on Earth even exist then? And doing what exactly? Waddling? Shivering? Pebbling!
Which is? A penguin will pick up a pebble in its beak and carry it to its partner.
Why? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, it can help build their nest (penguins often live in places where more traditional nest-building materials, such as twigs, aren’t available). But it also serves as a gift that acknowledges the relationship between them.
I saw this pebble and thought of you? Exactly!
Because you’ve got a heart of stone. No!
I’m guessing we’re not just talking about penguins here? Correct. Humans have been observed displaying similar behaviour.
Taking stones to each other in their mouths? Not necessarily stones. It’s about sending your partner a gift to brighten up their day and let them know you’re thinking of them.
Flowers then? Chocolates? Could be, but these days it’s more likely to be via social media – a picture, a little snippet of video, possibly with a caption.
A meme! We’re talking memes, right? Right. “I think it’s the cutest thing ever because memes are a love language these days,” relationship expert Gigi Engle told the Metro. She described sending memes as “a form of creating a connection with people”.
Pebbling is the new poetry? Yes, but easier. There are entire accounts dedicated to memes that are perfect for pebbling. Check out hashtags such as #relationship and #relationshipmeme on Instagram and TikTok.
I was wondering when this would lead to Instagram and TikTok. One post of a little girl singing the Selena Gomez song Love You Like a Love Song, and captioned: “When you ask your boyfriend if he can take you to get a sweet treat and he says yes”, has had 2.7m views.
Yuk! Well, each to their own and all that. Other “pebbles” are available of course. Find one you like, or rather one you think they’ll like, and DM it to The One.
And it’s not stealing? It’s allowed. Interestingly, another variety of actual penguin, the Adélie penguin, does just that – steals pebbles from other penguins, in Antarctica.
While singing Set Fire to the Rain? Eh? Oh I see: no, that’s the Adele penguin, boom boom.
Do say: “Awww, that’s so cute.”
Don’t say: “Yeah great, you copied and pasted a link to a meme, love you too babe.”
