How a Random Teenager Who Works at Target Became Famous in 12 Hours

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Twitter

It all started with a tweet. And a creeper pic.

This isn’t the first time a retail employee blew up the Internet (“Jen” from Appleton, anyone?), but at least this time it’s not over a candle tragedy. On Sunday morning, Twitter user @auscalum tweeted this photo from the Target checkout line:

Now @auscalum says she wasn’t the one who originally took the picture.


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Not that it mattered. The insatiable thirst that is Teens on the Internet took that picture and ran with it. And what started as a simple observation about Alex from Target:

Became #AlexFromTarget, racking up some 800K tweets in a mere 24 hours and countless memes:

And it inspired, uh, appreciation for other service industry workers:

So, if you work a cash register and think you are mildly to stunningly handsome, this is your time. Do your hair. Make sure you smile. You could become Internet famous today.


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Obviously, Alex From Target’s fandom eventually found him on Twitter (@DGM_Alex), where he originally seemed a bit overwhelmed by the very unexpected attention:

But now he’s changed his bio to “Official Alex from target” and seems to be embracing his meme fame:

And Target itself even got in on the action:

"Imagine our surprise yesterday when one of our Target team members managed to flood the Internet with images of red and khaki without even trying," a Target spokesperson told Mashable. "We are proud to have a great team, including #AlexFromTarget, and are in contact with his store and family."

What a weird world we live in!

Meanwhile, if you’re already at Target and overwhelmed by your love for Taylor Swift, there’s a cure: