Bill O' Reilly and ICP: The "Sciencebusters"!

"Who are the Sciencebusters? Bill O'Reilly and the Insane Clown Posse, between them more than potato years of science busting experience. They don't just question science; they put it to the test."

The foregoing is the opening line for my new reality show idea starring Bill O'Reilly and the members of the Insane Clown Posse (ICP). They might not seem similar on the surface, but Bill O'Reilly and ICP have something very big in common: their disdain for science. Here's how a typical episode of "Sciencebusters" would play out:

A member of ICP would ask a question like "F***in' magnets: how do they work?"

Bill O'Reilly would respond with "The magnet gets close to a piece of metal; the metal sticks to the magnet. You can't explain that." End of episode. (And of course they would do it live.)

Well, they might not ever star on "Sciencebusters" together, but ICP did do an interview with Bill O'Reilly back in 2001 before statements from both parties sparked similar internet memes (more on that in a minute). Bill started things off classy before the interview with this line: "What they advocate makes some of the black rappers look like Shirley Temple." He then attacks ICP member Violent J for asking a twelve-year-old boy a very personal question about his anatomy at an autograph signing.

Violent J also told a fourteen-year-old to "Go home and smoke something" at the same autograph signing (Question: "F***in' drugs: how do they work?" Answer: "Drugs go in; stupidity/creativity comes out. You can't explain that"). Violent J also tells the kid that he should commit a crime now because he's still a minor and informs Bill O'Reilly that he wouldn't have felt responsible in any way if the Columbine shooters had committed their crimes with their faces painted up like ICP members. He also talks about the positivity in ICP's music.

And it's this uh, "positivity" that helped turn ICP into a popular internet meme. It started when ICP attacked science in the 2009 song "Miracles" with lines like this: "Water, fire, air and dirt. F***ing magnets, how do they work? And I don't wanna talk to a scientist. Y'all motherf***ers lying, and getting me pissed." The internet latched onto the "magnets" line, and a meme was born.

Fast forward to 2011. In a January 2011 interview, Bill O'Reilly embarrassed himself in front of the head of American Atheists by trying to prove that religion is "not a scam" with this line: "Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can't explain that." (Well, I guess the moon has been worshiped as a deity in the past.)

This line spawned another meme that embraces willful ignorance of science. The meme features a photo of Bill O' Reilly in front of a red and blue background with fictional O'Reillyisms such as: "Bread goes in, toast comes out. You can't explain that." My personal favorite has to be "Tide goes in; stain comes out." Too bad Bill O'Reilly would never agree to do an ad for the laundry detergent; it might actually make him a tad more likeable. Or he would forever be associated with stubborn old dirt.

Anyway, it's nice to know that Bill O'Reilly and the ICP guys have something in common after he railed them for being such a bad influence on kids in his interview with the group. It seems they can both agree that something dangerous like science has no place in schools, and the Sciencebusters will continue in their quests to keep Americans ignorant.

SOURCES:
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/fcking-magnets-how-do-they-work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KxTUZ33gdM
http://www.geekosystem.com/bill-oreilly-cant-explain-that-meme/