A TikTok-famous floppy pug called Noodle has sparked a meme about his 'no-bones days' after videos of his morning routine went viral
A 13-year-old pug named Noodle has taken over TikTok, and sparked a meme known as "no-bones days."
"No-bones days" are named after Noodle's propensity to flop back into bed in the mornings.
Videos testing whether it's a "bones day" or not are taken as predictions about how the day will go.
"Good morning everyone, and welcome back to yet another round of 'No Bones,' the game where we find out if my 13-year-old pug woke up with bones," 30-year-old social media manager Jonathan Graziano says at the beginning of a TikTok video published Wednesday morning.
He pets Noodle, his internet-famous 13-year-old pug, before gently scooping him up from his dog bed, bringing him into a standing position. The minute he removes his hands, Noodle flops back down into the bed.
"OK, it's a no-bones day, it's a no-bones day, but I don't think that's a bad thing," Graziano then says in a voiceover.
"No-bones days," popularized by Graziano's TikToks with Noodle, have worked their way into TikTok vernacular in October as viewers wait to see if Noodle can be roused from his rest or if he's content to slumber on. As Graziano's videos have gone more and more viral, the test has become prescriptive for viewers as well - "bones days" are for seizing the day, and "no-bones days" are for canceling plans and spending extra hours in bed.
@jongraz your midweek reading 🔮🦴 ##pug ##adoptdontshop ##horoscope ##fortuneteller ##nobones ##noodletok
♬ original sound - Jonathan
Graziano has been documenting his relationship with Noodle on the Instagram account @showmenoodz, which has over 44,000 followers, since he adopted him in 2016. He joined TikTok in late 2020, and now has over 545,000 followers - a steep increase from the approximately 50,000 that Graziano told Insider he had two weeks ago. His recent videos featuring Noodle regularly amass millions of views.
Noodle's TikTok popularity has made "no-bones days" an internet sensation, with users posting memes and parodies depending on the pug's morning moods. The hashtag #nobones has over 25 million views on TikTok and is populated mostly by Graziano's own videos as well as memes and parodies.
'No-bone days' went viral on TikTok earlier this month
Graziano told Insider that he didn't know why his TikTok videos featuring Noodle began to go viral when they did, but that he noticed an influx of followers and engagement with "no bones" videos in the first week of October.
People on TikTok are making memes about "no-bones days" being a kind of calling card out of work or other responsibilities.
"I knew I shouldn't have gone out on a no-bone day," a TikTok with 1.4 million views from user @kokorokolo1, posted on Tuesday, reads.
In another parody, user @jaretkelly acts out a scenario in which his boss informs him that it's a "no-bones day" when he calls to say he'll be late to work.
@jaretkelly And so Jaret's day was saved thanks to @jongraz and his pup with no bones Noodle. #ForYouPizza #nobones
♬ original sound - Bread Boy
Graziano thinks part of the popularity is due to the fact that his videos have evolved into a kind of test to see how the stars have aligned on a particular morning. While "bones days" are a blessing, "no-bones days" aren't inherently negative.
"It's not a bad thing as much as it's just - you have permission to flop," Graziano told Insider.
'No-bones days' have been a part of life with Noodle since Graziano adopted him in 2016
Graziano told Insider that he met Noodle in 2016 when the pug was seven-and-a-half years old, adopting him from an owner who was no longer able to care for him.
According to Graziano, Noodle's "no-bones days" have existed since the pug came into his care. In the mornings, Graziano would attempt to rouse Noodle by propping him up. Sometimes he would "melt" back into wherever he was resting - not from an inability to stand up, but seemingly as a choice, Graziano said.
"We just learned very early on that if he doesn't want to do something, he's going to use the tools at his disposal to not do it," Graziano said.
@jongraz thank you all so much 🥺❤️😭 I love this sweet king and I love sharing him with you! ##pug ##nobones ##adoptdontshop ##geriatricking
♬ original sound - Jonathan
On the days that Noodle proudly stands up in his doggy bed and Graziano capures it for his TikTok audience, the internet rejoices.
"OK I GOT A JOB OFFER TODAY BEFORE I SAW THIS," one comment on an October 1 video reads. "IM CONVINCED I GOT IT BECAUSE HE HAD BONES. THANK YOU NOODLE."
@jongraz 🚨🚨🚨 this is not a drill!! 🚨🚨🚨 ##pug ##dog ##nobones ##magicmeatball ##fypシ
♬ original sound - Jonathan
Graziano told Insider that he finds "so much joy" in the videos that he makes about Noodle and the fact that other people have latched onto them as well. For him, though, Noodle's health and happiness always come first, and the pug "calls the shots" on whether or not they film a video each morning.
"I love this thing but... no TikTok video is more important than Noodle's wellbeing. None of it," Graziano told Insider.
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