Pickle Rick comes from the 2017 Rick and Morty episode where Rick turns himself into a pickle to avoid family therapy, a moment that became one of the show's most quoted memes. Hawk Tuah comes from a 2024 viral street interview clip that spread rapidly on TikTok and across social media. Short mashups combining both phrases with trap production became a common remix format, relying on instant recognition of two unrelated viral moments rather than on a full song or a longer scene for context and humour with younger audiences online today.