Chirping crickets as a symbol for silence is an old comedy trope from stage, radio and cartoons, where an empty or unresponsive room was filled only with outdoor insect noise. It passed into television, stand up clips and animated shows before becoming a staple soundboard clip online. Short video editors and streamers now reuse the tiny recording as a meme reaction, posting it in comments, edits and live chats whenever a reveal falls flat, a stream goes quiet or an expected crowd reaction simply does not happen.