The Podolsk Incident

What's in the image

The image is monochrome, in cold blue tones, with noticeable grain, as if it were an old, low-quality video recording. The bottom half shows a foggy forest road, with a light-colored old-style car parked on the shoulder; its rear license plate is visible, and a door stands open nearby. A human figure can be made out next to the car.

In the upper part of the frame, dark elongated silhouettes are scattered across the sky: some larger, some smaller, positioned at different heights, as if floating or falling. In the center, large text reads "Podolsk Incident" and "May 2021." The word "incident" in the caption has a visible typo.

Nothing in the photographic details reveals where the original landscape was shot or whether it has any connection to Podolsk — it's simply an image chosen for its atmosphere.

From an oil comic to "incidents"

The chain starts with a four-panel comic that a 9GAG user going by bebelik posted in February 2020. It's a joke about "scientific trolling": wait for rain, coat yourself in oil, and you'll fly, because oil is lighter than water. The comic spread across Reddit, and by November 2020 it had broken out of niche communities.

On November 27, 2020, Twitter user @ebola_granola posted a reworked version: using the same setup, it now described a "predicted" event — the "Sky Ladder Incident" in New York. This post is considered the starting point of the format. Imitations followed: in December, an "incident" appeared in the fictional Aurora Woods, and in January 2021 variations spread on VKontakte.

The Russian-language version, the Podolsk one, arose in January 2021 according to overviews, and named May 26, 2021 as the date of the event. The exact text of the original is unknown: sources retell it differently.

How the genre works

At the heart of the template is a ritual of pseudo-prophecy. First a date and a place are named, then a sequence of steps is listed: here's what will happen, here's how people will realize something's wrong. The thread ends in an absurd or eerie twist. The comedy here lies in the betrayal of expectations: instead of real mysticism, the reader gets a prank, most often involving a trollface, which is where the format gets its name.

The format's particular appeal lies in people's willingness to play along. The reader understands it's a made-up story, but still joins in the game, reposts it, and comments "I'll be there."

This template is known for its atmospheric covers: grain, cold colors, and an unsettling landscape. It's a parody of urban legends and scary internet stories.

Example captions

Made-up examples in the spirit of the genre:

"The Kuzminki Incident, November 14. First, the power in the stairwell will go out. Then the elevator will arrive with no one in it. Then you yourself will want to call the elevator." The three steps escalate in absurdity, and the last one breaks the logic entirely.

"The Grocery Store Incident, Saturday. Everyone will grab a cart. The carts will grab everyone." The wordplay delivers a short, unexpected punchline.

"The Office Incident, Monday. An email marked 'urgent' will arrive. It will turn out to be a reply to your email from three months ago." Here the scary story is swapped out for everyday workplace dread.

The best examples echo the rhythm of the original: date, build-up, false climax.

How to use it

The image works well as a cover for your own "incident": write the caption in the post text, while the image supplies the mood. The important thing is not to try to pass off the made-up story as a real event — the whole point of the genre is the obvious prank, not actual deception.