- Chuck Norris, who has died aged 86, was to many a martial arts and action movie legend, yet his greatest contribution to pop culture might be the many facts and memes that he inspired.
- In 2005, high school student Ian Spector created an online generator for absurdist celebrity facts, initially inspired by the Fast and Furious actor Vin Diesel.
- Following a user poll, the focus of the viral phenomenon shifted to Chuck Norris, leading to the widespread popularity of “Chuck Norris Facts”, which garnered millions of monthly views.
- The meme's success prompted Spector to publish The Truth About Chuck Norris, a book that became a New York Times bestseller despite initial legal challenges from Norris's team regarding monetisation, a settlement eventually being reached with subsequent editions being labelled as an “unauthorised parody”.
- Chuck Norris himself was reportedly flattered by the facts, never taking them too seriously, and even shared his favourite one publicly, which was: “They once tried to carve Chuck Norris' face into Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn't hard enough for his beard.”
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