Ball Pit

A ball pit (originally called "ball crawl" and also known as a ball pool or ball pond) is a padded box or pool filled with small colorful hollow plastic balls generally no larger than 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter.
In fandom, the Ball Pit refers to a Tumblr meme that originated from a July 2014 fan convention, DashCon. The Ball Pit in question was at the center of Dashcon's failure, and fans began creating Ball Pit memes, manips, vids and other fanworks while the con was still ongoing.
This is a meme often used to express disappointment or poke fun at the efforts of a particular production or event. There are also manips where characters are placed in the ball pit.
==The Meme==
Leading up to the convention, the dashcon tumblr highlighted the ballpit.tumblr ask archived
During the convention, Emma Grant, an attendee, created a faux 'postcard' and posted it to her tumblr. The image quickly became the source of the Ball Pit meme.
She wrote later: 
However, it was not until later, when the Welcome To Night Vale live reading event was canceledJeffrey Cranor, Apologies to fans in Northern Illinois. WebCite. that the Ball Pit Meme was born. As compensation to attendees who had paid extra for reserved seating to the canceled reading, the convention organizers promised, among other things, "an extra hour in the ball pit."Tara Lynne, DashCon Disaster – Welcome to Night Vale Walks Out & More. The Geekiary, July 12, 2014.CLARIFICATIONS AND BACK UP PLANS- tumblr post dated July 12, 2014; WayBack Machine linkGavia Baker-Whitelaw, The inaugural DashCon 2014 did not go as planned. Daily Dot, 2014-07-13.Heidi McDonald, "Ultimate when a con is crap: DashCon 2014 solicited people for money to pay the hotel bill while the con was running. The Beat, 2014-07-14, found 2014-08-26. WebCite. The ludicrousness of offering 500+ fans more time in the overly small ball pit immediately took off and fans began flooding tumblr and twitter with photo-manips of the ball pit in various scenarios, often combining them with other Internet memes. Several ball-pit cosplays at other conventions have also photographed and posted to Tumblr.For example, see Bessyboo's August 9, 2014 post, I did the thing. I’m not sorry..
At one point, one or more individuals reportedly urinated in the ball pit.Did someone actually pee in the ball pit? an anon ask on Tumblr blog askdashcon, July 14, 2014. askdashcon replied, "At this point in time confirming nor denying that statement will do us no good."possible origin of the pee rumor a tumblr post by wingdingle on July 13, 2014 (archived) The origin of this rumor on tumblr appears to be a post from a user who was not actually in attendance, but claims their concern was genuine.https://www.tumblr.com/wingdingle/697493605335629824/i-need-to-ask-how-are-you-now-congratulations-on?source=share archived They were later accused of doxxing the apparent perpetrator.https://www.tumblr.com/wingdingle/183278654389/hey-i-know-ur-heart-was-in-the-right-place-and?source=share archived An callout post for the suspect was made on July 13, though as the original is now deleted, many details about it remain unclear.callout post from reblog archived
==Legacy==
===Fake Ball Pit Baby Rumour===
In October 2019, Tumblr user wumblr made a post starting a rumour that there had been a baby born in the ball pit at Dashcon.
A later reblog by masochist-incarnate expanded on the rumour by stating:
A later reblog in November from the OP confirms they started it as a rumour and that no such baby existed, jokingly referencing Tumblr's monetary value, or lack thereof, as part of the reason why.
===Sequels to Dashcon's Ball Pit===
*In July 2022, a right-wing furry convention by the name of FreeFurAll - attended by several known Nazis and fascists - featured a ball pit. The con itself was almost universally condemned and ridiculed, both for its basic concept and its execution (poor organisation, poor management, alleged animal abuse etc), and the mockery that resulted included memes surrounding the ball pit, and its similarity with that of Dashcon's.
*Brick Fest Live 2024, held in Birmingham, was similarly shared online for its poor execution and lack of activities — a photo circulated online featuring a ball pit in a mostly–empty hall, which fans compared to the Dashcon Ball Pit. The event was also compared to Willy's Chocolate Experience.
==Example Memes==
File:Ballpitgrumpycat.png|The Ball Pit meme combined with the Grumpy Cat meme. Creator: digital-striker
File:Ballpitsnape.png|An equally grumpy Snape sits in the ball pit. Creator: jackalope-miscarriage
File:Ballpit costume.jpg|A Ball Pit Costume for men. Posted by officalwalmart
File:Ballpitcostume2.jpg|A Ball Pit costume for women. Posted by officalwalmart
File:Ballpit ebay.jpg|Ball Pit fan art for sale on eBay. Screencap by yourdisneymongrel666
File:Ballpitjoke.jpg|Attendees posted photos of their convention badges along with this text: "Be sure to be buried with your dashcon badges when you die, so when you arrive in hell you’ll get vip seating and an extra hour in the ball pit." Post by therealraewest
==Further reading==
* The Ball Pit meme is the only good thing to come out of DashCon by Aja Romano, July 2014
* This Cosplay Perfectly Commemorates DashCon (Yes, THAT DashCon) for Its 7-Year Anniversary: What a time to be alive by Briana Lawrence, July 2021
=== Tumblr Posts ===
* the ballpit deflated by trashmause posted July 12, 2014
* extra hour in the ball pit reblog by basicallythisismagic posted July 13, 2014
* Ballpit 'fanart' by zeekayart posted July 14, 2014
==References==
Category:2014 Memes
Category:Scandals
Category:Fandom_Occurrences