Y'all, today is a big day!
IT'S THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY OF FLOORCHARTS.
~9 YEARS~ of collecting, cataloguing, sharing, rambling, watching and *everything* else related to this crazy thing I decided to start one night.
EVERYONE JOIN ME FOR A THREAD. Full.of.charts.
First: This all started in 2012 because of @nielslesniewski and @elisefoley wondering - as Senator Durbin chatted about energy drinks with a giant 5 Hour Energy Drink (seen below) - why there wasn't an archive of these things.
And then: rollcall.com/2012/11/16/you…
I worked for the wonderful world of C-SPAN at the time, so always had it on at home, and was staring at Twitter...and well, decided this could be a thing. So I popped up a @tumblr.
The most popular chart in 2012?
The vintage @ChuckGrassley Debt and Deficit Dragon, of course.
Now we get to 2013.
First: Is a hamburger manufacturing? Congress and the WH want you to know... (This isn't from 2013, but I found it then.)
But the most popular? @SenWhitehouse and conspiracies and #climatechange
Now onto 2014 and y'all - it was a time.
First: The evergreen public media debate showcased by - pink-slipping Bert and Ernie!
Second: Politicians are trying to kill the internet.
Bonus: An ambassador is sworn in on an e-reader!
2014 bonus: I found these vintage @NintendoAmerica and @SEGA charts in Congress during video game regulation discussions.
Lethal Enforcers. Super Scope.
Zoom! (No, not that platform). It is 2015!
Single most popular moment: @JimInhofe and his snowball. People still talk about it today when they meet me.
But that's not all:
Former Sen. McCain really liked talking about catfish inspections. He had a buddy.
But we also saw MEMES get a moment in the sun. @SenMarkey and @RepDougCollins
Who remembers 2016? That wasn't a big year, was it?
Well, on the hill: Congressional cameras turned off during the gun legislation sit-in and we saw cell phone cameras and ... props. Of course.
(And pizza calories, Cuba and @SenJohnBarrasso Hillary Clinton meme.)
2-0-1-7. 2-0-1-7. 2-0-1-7.
The famous inauguration prop. We've all seen it.
POKEMON. What's up @JeffFlake?
But wait ...there's more...
.@Stranger_Things had its moment with @RepCicilline.
And @rosadelauro with this gem that never gets ... old!
Bonus 2017: The foreign prop heard round Europe.
"He's lying to you."
There were two "what the what" moments in 2018:
@SenRandPaul stopped Twitter cold with the risky sex habits of quails.
And it was #internationalchartsday hosted by @YuriBeckelman, who not only helped me officially make it into the Congressional Record, but also popped up Congressional Chart Art gallery. A behind-the-scenes inception moment: A picture of Rob Woodall with a chart of himself.
2019 was a moment for the trolling.
See: @RepCohen and his fried chicken and @SenThomTillis with ... Rep. Cohen and his fried chicken.
And nobody could forget: @SenMikeLee's #GreenNewDeal with the props heard round Washington.
Here's a few.
WE'RE ALREADY AT 2020. There were a lot. I'm still actually archiving 2020. So many y'all.
Bu two favorites:
@SenJoniErnst with her turtle and treadmill.
And @ChrisMurphyCT pulls out another popular meme.
But there were so many.
2021 has a lot. I can't honestly share all of them.
#hotFERCsummer
Scooby Doo
Joni Ernst and LIFE ()and Spin to Win!)
Bonus mention in general:
I'm sad that GIPHY doesn't have this Tom Coburn gif, which really made everyone stand up and take notice.
2013 - my phone truly blew up with this @cspan moment.
I couldn't do this without ALL the congressional staff, reporters, producers, think tankers, political scientists, congress nerds & so many others who tweet me, text me, ask questions and think this is fun.
Also: There's a book coffee-table book: kickstarter.com/projects/floor…
WHATS IN THE PLAN? @RepHartzler
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.