This is the six year anniversary re-naming of the once-ubiquitous “Fail Whale“, which is an illustration of a white beluga whale being held up by a flock of birds. It became synonymous with Twitter experiencing downtime.

Originally named “Lifting A Dreamer“, it was created by graphic designer Yiying Lu in 2009 until it was re-named in that same year by Twitter user Nick Quaranto.
The fan base creative expression of the “Lifting a Dreamer” (“Fail Whale”) has grown tremendously over the past 6 years, from tattoo to 3D sculptures, Lego to beer labels, cakes to street art…the “Fail Whale” gradually became a culture icon. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of funny ‘modified’ Lifting a Dreamer on the internet.