The internet has many unofficial holidays — but few are celebrated as loudly (or weirdly) as Hump Day.
Every Wednesday, timelines around the world fill with camels, GIFs, and people screaming “GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!” at their coworkers.
Welcome to the bizarre midweek ritual that started as a commercial — and became an eternal meme.
What Is “Hump Day”?
“Hump Day” is a slang term for Wednesday — the midpoint of the workweek.
The idea is simple: if the week were a hill, Wednesday is the hump you climb over before rolling down toward the weekend.
The expression dates back decades, but it really took off online around 2013, when the internet collectively decided that Wednesdays needed a mascot — and that mascot was a camel. 🐫
The Meme’s Origin: From Dictionary Term to Meme Legend
While “Hump Day” was already North American slang for Wednesday, its pop-culture fame came from one unexpected source: a 2013 GEICO commercial.
The ad features a camel named Caleb strolling through an office shouting,
“UH-OH! GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS?! HUMP DAYYYY!”
Originally uploaded on April 30th, 2013, the video quickly became a viral sensation, gaining millions of views across YouTube and Facebook.
By that Friday, the internet had turned Caleb the Camel into an icon — remixing his line into GIFs, TikToks, and soundboards that still circulate today.
When the Internet Met the Camel!
As with all great memes, the web took the idea and ran with it — straight into absurdity.
Tumblr users gave “Hump Day” a risqué double meaning, twisting the innocent office joke into spicy midweek humor.
Twitter and Reddit threads began to celebrate Wednesdays with camel emojis, “We made it!” posts, and ironic despair memes about surviving the workweek.
Even Scandinavian cultures joined in — in Sweden, Wednesday is affectionately known as “Lillördag” (“Little Saturday”), where bars host midweek parties.
What started as a corporate ad had become an international mood.
The GEICO Camel That Won the Internet
Few commercials have ever achieved true meme immortality, but this one did.
By 2014, “Hump Day” had become synonymous with Wednesday, appearing on calendars, coffee mugs, and yes — thousands of funny t-shirts.
GEICO’s camel even became a Halloween costume and a pop culture reference across late-night TV shows.
In meme years, that’s basically forever.
Why the “Hump Day” Meme Still Hits
More than a decade later, the phrase still trends every single week.
Why? Because it taps into something universal:
Everyone knows the struggle of the midweek grind.
Everyone loves a good excuse to laugh at work.
And everyone, deep down, wants to be that camel yelling “It’s Hump Day!” in the middle of the office.
It’s simple, funny, and endlessly remixable — the three ingredients of meme longevity.
From Viral Video to Wearable Meme
At Funny Meme Retro Shirt, we live for internet legends like this.
Check out our shirts here :
Because if you’re going to survive the week, you might as well do it in meme-style. 😎
Quick Meme Facts
Meme Name : Hump Day
Origin : GEICO Commercial (April 30, 2013)
Type : Slang, Viral Ad Meme
Mascot : Caleb the Camel
Spread : YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit
Status : Evergreen Internet Classic 🐪
