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Why is Jar Jar Binks trending on Twitter? We found out.

Twenty years later, the galaxy’s most famous Gungan is having a moment and the internet is there for it.
STAR WARS -- Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan whose curiosity gets him into trouble, eyes some tasty food while walking through a open-air market in Mos Espa, a city on Tatooine in STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE. [Lucasfilm]
STAR WARS -- Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan whose curiosity gets him into trouble, eyes some tasty food while walking through a open-air market in Mos Espa, a city on Tatooine in STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE. [Lucasfilm]
Published July 8, 2019|Updated July 8, 2019

Monday morning the internet rose to recognize the senator from Naboo.

Twenty years after Jar Jar Binks entered Star Wars canon in The Phantom Menace, becoming one of the saga’s most controversial and demeaned characters, the name was trending on Twitter Monday morning, which seemed to confuse many. And, in one of the most internety things that could possibly happen, Jar Jar Binks continued to trend on Twitter throughout the morning because everyone was asking why Jar Jar Binks was trending on Twitter.


Many began to speculate as to why, hoping it was a fanboy-pleasing revelation that Jar Jar was finally revealed as a mastermind Sith Lord who pulled one of the greatest grifts in galactic history.

He was, after all, responsible for one of the Galactic Senate’s most monumental motions when he proposed granting emergency powers to Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine for the creation of a clone army. Basically, Jar Jar is low-key responsible for creating the entire Galactic Empire and setting in motion all of Star Wars as we know it.

Some were just thankful he’s still alive.

Turns out, the source can be traced to a shared graphic on Twitter prompting people to pair an action based on their birth month with a character based on the first letter of their first name. Even Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, got in on the action.

And as the Force would seem to have willed it, if your name starts with a "J" you get paired to Jar Jar Binks. According to Social Security Administration data compiled by the University of Chicago, J-names have had the lion’s share of frequency for nearly a century.

Data compiled by the University of Chicago shows the frequency of names starting with a given letter. [University of Chicgao]
Data compiled by the University of Chicago shows the frequency of names starting with a given letter. [University of Chicgao]
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Thus, the mystery of Jar Jar Binks trending on twitter is solved.