The town of Boringville had one rule: no trends, ever. Until 2023, when a single video of a penguin doing the Renegade infiltrated their Facebook group. Suddenly, everyone was a dancer.
Marjorie, 62, stood in her living room, clutching a mug of lukewarm coffee, staring at her phone. “This is the Renegade?” she muttered, watching the penguin’s stiff limbs. “I could do that.” She attempted the dance, knocking over a lamp and a cat named Sir Fluffington.
By noon, Boringville’s square was a chaos of wobbling hips and confused pigeons. Teenagers in neon leggings gyred beside retirees in slippers. A man in a toupee tried to moonwalk into a bush.
Marjorie, now the de facto trendsetter, launched a challenge: “The Boringville Boogie!” Steps included “the awkward shrug,” “the sudden freeze,” and “the desperate sprint to the fridge.” The town ate it up, filming in 15-second bursts.
Then came the viral moment. Marjorie, mid-dance, tripped over a garden gnome and face-planted into a bucket of paint. The video, titled “Penguin vs. Paint,” blew up. Comments flooded in: “This is why we can’t have nice things,” “Send help,” and “Who is this goddess?”
Boringville never recovered. Now, their main attraction is a statue of Marjorie mid-sprint, forever frozen in glory.
