Why does September 21 turn everyone’s feed into a pop quiz?

Spot the anomalies
How reading tools work

Listen reads the article aloud. Speed read shows phrases in sequence at your chosen pace. Language practice compares available translations. Save keeps a bookmark in this browser; find it in the player’s bookmarks. Play this article as Breakout turns its own words into bricks for you to knock out.

Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement

On September 21, “Do you remember?” posts aren’t testing your memory. They are the internet’s annual excuse to play Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” The song mentions the twenty-first night of that month, so a date on a calendar has somehow acquired its own soundtrack.

The track dates to 1978; the calendar-based joke arrived much later. In 2016, comedian Demi Adejuyigbe posted a video dancing to his own remix on September 21. He repeated the stunt in later years, turning an already ridiculous appointment with the calendar into a bigger production. His 2018 version even featured a children’s choir. That is a lot of logistical planning for remembering what day it is.

The song took another detour when YouTuber ShittyFlute released a deliberately ragged recorder cover in 2016. That version also became meme audio on TikTok. One branch of the joke is gloriously polished dancing; another sounds like the recorder is having a difficult Tuesday. Both point back to the same date and song.

For an imaginary example, picture someone opening a calendar app on the 21st and cutting straight to a dramatic dance routine. That illustrates the format; it is not a claimed viral post. Know Your Meme updated its entry on September 21, 2026, but that does not establish fresh view counts or popularity in any particular country. The punch line is simple: the internet didn't discover a holiday. It promoted a song lyric into one.

Know Your Meme · Demi Adejuyigbe, 2016 video · ShittyFlute recorder cover

Go one step deeper: Hiding your favorite music can hide your people too

If this article helped you, you can support the site. Support

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

One more? Anything fun?

Since you're done reading: a couple of nearby stories and some totally different, fun ones.

  1. Is 6 million yen a high salary?Why "all my friends earn it" misleads
  2. Why You Can Be Strong but Still Can't RunStrength, Endurance and Cardio Are Separate
  3. Why Is Everyone in Chiikawa Always Eating?Food, Weeds, Monsters, Work and the 10+ Rating
  4. Why Hisoka Helps Gon in Greed IslandA Reliable Teammate with Dangerous Motives

Read this today

Each one answers a question readers of this article tend to ask next.

Browse all articles

Find other articles

All articles

Mendoi-chan

Who runs this site

Mendoi-chan

She turns friction at work and in everyday life into clear structure and practical next steps.