Meaning
What does Man Door Hand Hook Car Door mean?
Man door hand hook car door refers to a copypasta or trollpasta meme, derived from the popular urban legend, “The Hook”.
The original legend told a story about a couple on a date in their car, hearing about a dangerous escaped convict who has a hook for his right hand.
When the couple hear noises outside the vehicle, they get out to investigate, only to find a hook clawed into the vehicle.
“Man door hand hook car door” is a humorously constructed modern retelling of the story, focusing on its main keywords, telling the final plot twist in a single, nonsensical string of terms.
It became a viral meme online, circulating on sites like Reddit and 4chan.
Origin
What's the origin of Man Door Hand Hook Car Door?
The original story emerged in the 1950’s and gained popularity among teens and adolescents after 1959.
It was first publicized in the popular advice column of “Dear Abby” on November 8th, 1960.
The tale was also famously referred to in a scene of the 1989 film, “Dead Poets Society”, which was also set in 1959.
In the following decades, the story would be mentioned and referred to in several contexts, including movies, novels as well as animations, such as the 2007 comedy short “Shrek the Halls”, as well as the animated series “Total Drama Island”.
Spread & Usage
How did Man Door Hand Hook Car Door spread?
“Man door hand hook car door” first became an online sensation on June 19th, 2012 in a 4chan thread, followed by a limited circulation of the copypasta.
The first Know Your Meme entry related to the urban legend was created in July 2012.
A reading of the story would be uploaded to YouTube by That Guy With a Voice on February 28th, 2014, which viralized the tale, resulting in a widespread occurrence of screenshots, displaying the original 4chan post emerging on Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, as well as Tumblr.

External resources
- Reddit – r/ihadastroke