Meaning
What does Help, I Accidentally Built a Shelf mean?
Help, I accidentally built a shelf is a popular internet meme, made popular largely by the fact that is a frequently encountered automatic search query on Google.
The phrase itself is often spread by users as a copypasta, especially on sites and forums, related to furniture assembly.
Origin
What's the origin of Help, I Accidentally Built a Shelf?
The origin of the phrase can be traced back to June 11th, 2013 to a since removed Yahoo! Answers post, where the user wrote “Help, I accidentally build a shelf!?”.
The meme would be circulated on social media sites like Facebook and Reddit, before it would start appearing on Google’s search recommendations.
Spread & Usage
How did Help, I Accidentally Built a Shelf spread?
This long lasting gag has continued to appear on a wide variety of sites online, ranging from posts on the r/IKEA subreddit to YouTube parodies.
“Help, I accidentally built a shelf” has spawned a plethora of image macros online, reflecting on the absurdity of tenuously constructing a shelf before realizing it.
