2007, on a high school field trip to an amusement park. My friends and I were all standing around outside, near a little restaurant seating area.
A teenage boy from another school came bolting over, nearly knocking over a chair. He said to me directly, “I’m lost, can you find my dad?”
He was fake twitching and holding his hands up against his chest. I was just confused, and none of us knew how to respond. Just a second later, another teenage boy (not fake twitching this time) ran up. He threw his arm around the other boy and said to me, “thank you for watching my mentally challenged* friend. Can I have your number in case it happens again?”
A teacher promptly ran over and broke up the interaction, telling the boys to beat it.
Probably the most creative attempt I’ve ever witnessed, although it was pretty clumsy. We referred to them as “Mr. Twitch and Captain Pickup Line” in retellings of the story throughout high school lol
*not the terminology he used in 2007
My theory is this: new Lemmy users aren’t comfortable yet, so some are looking for easy ways to begin engaging with the site. 196 is a low-stakes way to make a first post without the anxiety of a higher effort post.
I don’t think I mind it either, if it gets more people actively participating in some way. And if it grows too out of control, at least there’s a block option.