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In MyMemeCards, the meme card game, “The Tumbeasts” is a rare card of the Memes World series 71, number 21210 of the collection, and the 210th best-known meme of its 300 cards. Here is what the meme means, where it comes from, and how to get its card.
What does the “The Tumbeasts” meme mean?
This visual turns the frustration of an inaccessible website into an amusing anecdote. It expresses a benevolent resignation towards technical failures. Users understand the issue lies with the server, not their device. This approach reduces tension by personifying the cause of the outage through a fictional and harmless character.
Where does the “The Tumbeasts” meme come from?
Illustrator Matthew Inman, known as The Oatmeal, created these mascots to address Tumblr’s frequent downtime. On January 24, 2011, he published a strip titled Winter 2010, the State of the Web on his blog. In this drawing, he imagined green creatures living in data centers causing outages by chewing cables. This idea echoed Twitter’s Fail Whale, another famous web error mascot. Four hours after publication, Tumblr founder David Karp contacted Inman. The social network immediately adopted the concept for its error page. Inman confirmed this official adoption on January 31, 2011. The exact date of the first public appearance on Tumblr remains unknown.
- January 24, 2011Publication of the original illustration by Matthew Inman on The Oatmeal.
- January 2011Official adoption by Tumblr to replace standard error messages.
How to use the “The Tumbeasts” meme
- Share a screenshot of the error to signal temporary site unavailability with humor.
- Cite this example during a discussion about best practices in user error design.
- Reference Matthew Inman’s story when discussing collaborations between artists and web platforms.
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The “The Tumbeasts” card in MyMemeCards
| Number | No. 21210 |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Rare |
| Collection | Memes World series 71 |
| Fame | 71/100 · #210 of 300 |
| Recycle value | 10 MemeCoins (30 in Shiny) |
How to get the “The Tumbeasts” card
Every pack holds 5 meme cards, the first 3 of them Common; The Tumbeasts comes out of the Memes World series 71 as a rare card. The pack odds say what each rarity weighs.
Your first pack is free and needs no account. After that a new free pack lands every 10 minutes, up to 3 waiting for you. You can also buy the card with MemeCoins on the market, bid for it at auction, or trade it — and a double recycles into 10 MemeCoins.
Open your free pack
5 meme cards, one of them at least Rare. One free pack per person.
Free · no account needed
Odds per card, averaged over a pack: Common 72%, Rare 23.9%, Epic 3.2%, Legendary 0.56%, Mythic 0.3%, Full Art ≤ 0.1%, Shiny 0.2%. Cards 1 to 3 are always Common, cards 4 and 5 climb the rarities. Rates drop for cards that circulate a lot. Details
Memes like “The Tumbeasts”
More cards of the Memes World series 71
Frequently asked questions
Who created the Tumbeasts?
Matthew Inman, author of The Oatmeal, drew these creatures for Tumblr in January 2011.
Why does Tumblr use Tumbeasts?
They make server outages less frustrating by telling a funny story about monsters eating hardware.
What is the difference between TumblBeasts and Tumbeasts?
The initial name proposed was TumblBeasts, but Tumblr shortened it to Tumbeasts for its interface.
How do I get the The Tumbeasts meme card?
Open a pack of MyMemeCards: “The Tumbeasts” is a rare card of the Memes World series 71. Your first pack is free, with no account, and you can also buy, trade or win the card at auction.
How rare is the The Tumbeasts card?
It is a Rare card. Rarity decides which pack slot can deal it, and what it is worth on the market.
Sources: The Tumbeasts | Know Your Meme · A nice day at the beach with the Fail Whale and some ... · Tumblr Adds Suggested Tumbeast to 404 Page - Observer · checked on October 12, 2026.
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Open your free pack: 5 meme cards, no account needed.