On September 8th, the subreddits /r/WillYouPressTheButton and /r/WYPTB were created. By July 25th, additional screenshots also began to surface on FunnyJunk, with another posted to Reddit two days later. This type of activity is also reminiscent of “Would You Rather?” threads, which became popular on 4chan in 2011 in discussions of the Fairview Fairview Goat Tower.Īs early as June 23rd, screenshots from Will You Press the Button have been shared on 4chan, specifically on /vg/ (Video Game Generals) and /vp/ (Pokemon). Threads dedicated to hypothetical situations being solved by pushing a red button have appeared on 4chan since as early as June 2010 (shown below, left). The story has since been readapted twice, first in a March 1986 episode of The Twilight Zone (shown below, left) and second for the 2009 film The Box (shown below, right) While big red buttons used to activate a powerful force have been a trope in pop culture for decades, the idea of using one of them to make a decision with both positive and negative effects dates back to a 1970s short story by Richard Matheson titled 'Button, Button.' In the story, a couple receives a locked box with a button that, when pressed, will give them $50,000 but also cause someone that they didn't know to die. As of October 2013, a Facebook fan page for the site has accrued more than 7,100 likes. The site launched on June 16th, 2013, followed the release of a free Android app on July 3rd.

Press the big red button