Cock and Ball Torture, or CBT, is a copypasta and audio meme built around the Wikipedia article describing the sexual practice of the same name. The joke leans on incongruity, using a clinical encyclopedia entry as a punchline, and picked up major traction from 2015 through 2019 across Reddit, Twitter, iFunny, and Instagram.
Origin
The Wikipedia article for cock and ball torture was created on July 10, 2004 by an anonymous editor[1]. The meme's actual starting point came on March 14, 2010, when Wikipedia contributor FSII uploaded an audio recording of the article, performed by narrator Alabaster Constantine III[1]. That recording, delivered in a measured, clinical tone with none of the winking energy the subject would normally invite, became the seed for years of pranks, edits, and copypasta drops.
- Platform: Wikipedia / Reddit (viral spread)
- Creator: Unknown
- Date: 2010
Overview
Cock and Ball Torture, usually shortened to CBT, is a copypasta and audio meme centered on the Wikipedia entry for the sexual practice of applying pain or constriction to male genitals[1]. The comedic engine is pure incongruity, a straight faced encyclopedia article about a taboo topic dropped into unrelated conversations or read aloud in a calm, professorial voice[3].
The joke took hold in the late 2010s across Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, iFunny, and YouTube, powered by an audio narration hosted on Wikipedia and a dedicated Twitter bot that tweets excerpts every day[2]. By 2019, the phrase itself was being deployed as a stand alone punchline in image edits and captions[4]. Urban Dictionary entries from the same era define CBT colloquially as the act of punishing the genitals, which mirrors the deadpan tone of the Wikipedia source text[5].
How It Spread
On February 22, 2015, a Coub user going by idiot joke teen posted a clip of teenagers playing the Wikipedia audio out loud in an elevator, one of the earliest documented prank uses of the recording[4]. Around the same time, the article text itself started circulating as a Reddit copypasta. On July 26, 2016, the @cockandballbot Twitter account launched, tweeting a fresh quote from the entry every day, and eventually posting more than 32,700 tweets pulled from the article[2].
YouTube user Tanyathsus reuploaded the audio narration on January 24, 2017, where it drew over 18,000 views within two years[3]. An upvoted comment under the video reminisced about kids blasting the recording on random middle school computers[3]. In May 2017, Instagram user seth.v.2 posted a four panel meme featuring Minecraft's Steve character, which another user re edited to include a shot of Steve stabbing Herobrine over the Wikipedia entry. Redditor PKNessStorm reposted that edit to r/4PanelCringe on June 2, 2017, where it pulled more than 900 upvotes[4].
Momentum grew through 2018 with image macros like an anonymous Imgur user's Crash Team Racing cover that swapped "CTR" for "CBT: Cock and Ball Torture," and a Peter Griffin edit posted by The_Great_Curve to r/okbuddyretard on June 5, 2018. Starting in December 2018 and peaking in January 2019, the phrase saw a fresh surge as a rug pull punchline across iFunny, Instagram, and Reddit's ironic humor subs[4].
How to Use
The template is usually a bait and switch. Common conventions include dropping the Wikipedia excerpt as a copypasta reply, playing the audio narration as a public prank, or swapping a familiar acronym for CBT in a logo edit (CTR to CBT being the most cited example)[4]. Caption memes often set up a mundane scenario and reveal cock and ball torture as the punchline, mimicking the deadpan register of the source text[5].
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cock And Ball Torture?
As a meme, it is a copypasta and audio joke built around the Wikipedia article on the sexual practice, used as a deadpan punchline online[1].
Where did Cock And Ball Torture come from?
The Wikipedia entry was written in July 2004, but the meme really began in March 2010 when a narrated audio version was uploaded to Wikipedia by user FSII[1].
What does Cock And Ball Torture mean?
In meme use, it works as an incongruity gag, quoting or referencing a clinical Wikipedia article about male genital pain as a shock punchline[5].
How do you use Cock And Ball Torture?
People typically drop the Wikipedia text as a copypasta reply, play the audio narration as a prank, or edit CBT into logo swaps and caption bait and switches[4].
Is Cock And Ball Torture still popular?
The biggest surge came in January 2019 across iFunny, Instagram, and Reddit, and the @cockandballbot Twitter account kept posting daily excerpts long after that peak[2].
