The subreddit is called r/Blep and it currently has 371k members. Its description says “A place for blep” but only for cats. What is very important in this subreddit is that a lick is not a blep, so not all stickings of the tongue out are accepted and there are 10 moderators to ensure people upload only true bleps.

It was created by BillohRly whose name is not actually Bill, but he is a reasonably grown up man from Sweden. Bored Panda got in touch with the redditor and we got to know a little bit more about him: "I am fond of books and things that most people like. I do not consider mayonnaise and French fries a mortal sin. I pay my taxes and enjoy moderately overweight animals. I am relatively ignorant regarding social media, and I don’t really live in the Insta-verse. But I love a few accounts intensely, such as Useless Farm, Balam the Cat and Hoomie, the cosmic lil walrus cat. Please check him out. He is a treasure."

As the subreddit is dedicated to cats, we asked if BillohRly had many pets and he does have a calico cat name Kattbarnet, which, the owner explained, means “The Cat Child.” She describes her as “wonderful to humans, and god awful towards other cats.” He also added, “I am happy with one cat. Except when she pukes on my expensive rugs.”

Now, the subreddit is called r/Blep and if you don’t know what a blep is, you don’t have to worry about your vocabulary, because it’s not a word you will find in the Oxford dictionary. But the most popular slang dictionary on the internet, Urban Dictionary, will explain to you that it is “the act of a cat sticking its tongue out slightly without realizing it, often for long periods of time.” Other resources claim that blepping belongs not only to cats, as Wikipedia gives this definition: “(Internet slang, of an animal) To extend the tongue beyond the lips without opening the mouth fully.”

The word was actually invented by the subreddit creator. When we asked how the idea of creating the subreddit came to him, he answered, “Well, here’s the thing. I made up the words ‘blep’, ‘blop’ and ‘blup’ to describe the situation when an animal forgets to put its tongue back in. But cats came first, the other two words were more of an afterthought to make a difference between different animals.”

And the most wonderful and surprising thing for the subreddit creator was not reaching such a big members’ number. He didn’t expect that either, but what he says is, “I was flabbergasted when we hit 10k. But I am even more shocked at seeing the words themselves become part of internet vernacular. It’s amazingly strange.”

We were interested why the subreddit focuses only on cats and turns out, it wasn't intentional. The creator explained, "I made up the meme “blep” and started to use it on cats forgetting to put their tongues back in. The other words for other animals followed not too long afterwards. I have seen journalists claim that no one knows where “blep” comes from. But it is all from me. Me making up stupid words and my awesome mod friends keeping the subs fresh and tidy."

So now you know, BillohRly is the creator of the word describing cats forgetting to put their tongues inside their mouths that became so widespread on the internet.

The subreddit was created 7 years ago and now is quite popular, but it wasn’t like that at the start. The redditor BillohRly gives us a little summary of the subreddit growth, “It has been slow and steady. In the beginning it was just me and Camsy34 slogging along and spreading the word in various subreddits over the years. Other than that the growth is down to having awesome mod friends who keep things clean and nice.”

Now that we know what we are talking about, the natural question that follows is why do cats do this? We know of several reasons why humans do it—to mock someone, express disgust, playfulness, or sometimes when they are trying to concentrate. 

Well, there are multiple reasons for cats too. When they stick out their tongue, they are investigating the environment and picking up scents, which is associated with the Flehmen response. It also may mean they have food stuck in their teeth or they experienced a new taste and are trying to understand it.

It can be an indicator of some problems with their teeth, poisoning or other medical issues; however, blepping is completely normal unless it is accompanied by other unusual behaviors for your cat. There is also a thing called hanging tongue syndrome, which could be caused by severe dental disease.

But most often, it just means that the cat is relaxed. That is why even if they don’t blep while awake, you can catch them blepping while sleeping. So in most cases, there is nothing to worry about and cat owners can calmly admire their pets’ silly little faces.

What do you think of this list? Does your cat blep often and do you find it adorable? Leave your reaction to these cats blepping in the comments and don’t forget to upvote the cutest ones!