When we say shovel, the first thing that pops up is shovelling snow out of your driveway. But back in 2014, the same word had taken on a completely new meaning. In fact, it become one of the first viral sensations even before the birth of our current culture.
The Shovel Girl Incident
It really was meant to be an ordinary video of an ordinary argument between two teenage girls on a backyard. The clip begins with the two arguing and hassling each other over something. It turns out to be a boy, no surprises. What does surprise viewers is that the verbal argument soon gets a bit nasty.
Both girls are seen having a real go at each other before one of them decides to walk away from the situation. This is when the viral moment happens. One girl picks up a shovel lying around and throws it at the other girl. In most cases, the shovel would have missed its mark. But it did not this time.
When the shovel strikes the girl walking away, she falls on the backyard lawn. The other girl then walks to her and cones to berate her. This video became a sensation in an age before Instagram and TikTok.
Shovel Girl Instagram
The original eight-minute video was uploaded on Vine but the six-second clip became so popular that it was posted on other platforms such as Twitter and YouTube, followed by the circulation of many ‘shovel girl’ memes.
Now Shovel Girl is on Instagram. Miranda Fugate, aka the girl hit by the shovel, has launched her own social media platform. She also spoke about the original video on YouTube last October. With her profile set to public, Miranda has already garnered close to three hundred thousand followers.
Viral Fame
Miranda has been open about how the video affected her life and the cost of being a viral sensation. She said, “I was about 14 and it was just really awkward, really stupid, and a really lame point and time in my life and I really never wanted to have to make this video breaking it down but I’ve had messages from all over the world.”