https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/62qgur/mod_post_an_important_announcement_about_the/
created by Pun-Master-General on 01/04/2017 at 04:00 UTC*
11130 upvotes, 97 top-level comments (showing 25)
Hello, everyone!
As some of you may be aware, we recently passed the 16 million subscriber mark here on /r/AskReddit. In fact, just in the last few days, we passed 16,500,000! We're very grateful for all of you who subscribe to /r/AskReddit and make this possible.
16,500,000 is a lot of people. In fact, we decided to do some research on some things that have fewer people than there are subscribers to /r/AskReddit. The obvious answer, of course, is lesser subreddits like those losers on /r/pics (jk <3). But what we didn't realize at first was that there are more subscribers to /r/AskReddit than there are people in most countries! That's right, if /r/AskReddit were a country, it would be in the top 100 for population size. In fact, we would be the 69th largest, as it so happens, according to [wikipedia's most recent population statistics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_(United_Nations%5C[1])). And we'd have a few hundred thousand on the next largest, Ecuador, and we'd be closing in on number 68, Guatemala, in population before long, too.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_(United_Nations%5C
When we discovered this, we got to thinking. If there are only 68 countries with more people than the subreddit... why not make our own country? All of this "If /r/AskReddit were a country, it would be the 69th largest" stuff is cool, but you know what's even cooler? Being the 69th largest country!
This brings us to our important announcement for today. We're proud to announce that we have declared the sovereignty of the Yam Republic[2]! We hope that all of you will join us in forging a glorious future for this young nation. I know you probably have some questions, so I'll try to pre-emptively answer them.
Well, calling it the Yam Dictatorship would have been ~~too obvious~~ not very nice, wouldn't it?
Oh, you meant why is it the *Yam* Republic as opposed to some other kind of republic? Well, simply put, we like yams.[3] And we think that you guys do, too, based on the response to Yam Day[4]!
Way back when there were only a measly 10,000,000 subscribers, /r/AskReddit had a Yam Day celebration[5] when the sub hit the 10 million mark. Not everyone was thrilled about Yam Day, of course, but plenty of yam lovers embraced it. We're hoping you'll all do the same with the Yam Republic!
So, it turns out that buying enough land for an entire country is expensive, and takes a lot of time. Conquering some land seemed like a bad idea since we don't have much of an army yet. We were gonna all declare sovereignty in our back yards, but it turns out the countries we live in tend to frown upon that.
So the short answer is that the Yam Republic doesn't really have much of a physical location yet. But thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we aren't going to let that stop us.
For the time being, until we can obtain suitable land, the Yam Republic will be headquartered on /r/YamRepublic. There, we'll get the government set up so that once we have a physical location, we'll be ready to hit the ground running! We choose to see this as a positive: anyone from anywhere in the world can join the Yam Republic in its early days without worrying about silly things like transportation.
Just go to /r/YamRepublic and participate there!
Absolutely. 100%. Why would you even need to ask?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comment by bentomaster27 at 01/04/2017 at 04:07 UTC
3166 upvotes, 6 direct replies
I can't believe I read all that.
Comment by omart3 at 01/04/2017 at 04:23 UTC
2634 upvotes, 7 direct replies
We're very grateful for all of you who subscribe to /r/AskReddit and make this possible.
I guess it helps that this is a default subreddit subscription for new redditors.
Comment by BonfireLoL at 01/04/2017 at 04:03 UTC
19802 upvotes, 24 direct replies
ok
Comment by LisaNeedsBraces__ at 01/04/2017 at 04:06 UTC
2950 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Should have closed with "yam right we're serious".
Comment by ja1896 at 01/04/2017 at 04:07 UTC
803 upvotes, 6 direct replies
Still trying to figure out how I noted 5 minutes ago "wow, it's April now" and didn't realize it was April fools day until *after* the TLDR
Comment by LIL_CRACKPIPE at 01/04/2017 at 12:17 UTC
189 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I have to ask my mom
Edit: she said no
Comment by Poem_for_your_sprog at 01/04/2017 at 05:23 UTC*
2803 upvotes, 18 direct replies
National yamthem:
There beats inside the hearts of men,
From sea to shore,
and glen to glen,
Beyond the shades of age and youth,
A single mind!
A common truth!
The very best of life is sweet,
Potato-shaped,
and good to eat,
And all the world was made the same
To spread the word!
To sing its name!
Where ever plants and roots are found
In tussled earth
beneath the ground,
Or where the taste of life is free,
and growing strong,
Our hearts will be!
Proclaim it loud and proud and true:
We do it all,
and all for you!
We couldn't spare a *damn* for hams,
So give us death,
or give us yams!
Comment by Th3WhiteLotus at 01/04/2017 at 04:07 UTC
1094 upvotes, 13 direct replies
Comment by HillbillyZT at 01/04/2017 at 04:06 UTC
526 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Well shit...^(earliest I've ever been to askreddit post)
What is the national animal of the Yam Republic?
Comment by [deleted] at 01/04/2017 at 12:10 UTC
37 upvotes, 0 direct replies
"We're very grateful that /r/AskReddit is a default sub. Thanks for not unsubscribing." -Mods
Comment by Airaknock at 01/04/2017 at 06:25 UTC
265 upvotes, 5 direct replies
Is this sub run by teenagers?
Comment by momat94 at 01/04/2017 at 04:05 UTC
408 upvotes, 6 direct replies
Feels like you are trying too hard with this
Comment by umbly-bumbly at 01/04/2017 at 12:44 UTC
14 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This play probably looked better when they wrote it up on the chalkboard.
Comment by DoctorDeath at 01/04/2017 at 04:30 UTC
295 upvotes, 6 direct replies
Is this supposed to be funny? Or am I supposed to be fooled in some way?
Comment by FloggMunkies at 01/04/2017 at 07:23 UTC
232 upvotes, 5 direct replies
Weakest April fools ever
Comment by Mohammed420blazeit at 01/04/2017 at 06:45 UTC
107 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Maybe you'll have a better April fools day next year, this was lame as fuck.
Comment by [deleted] at 01/04/2017 at 07:44 UTC
167 upvotes, 1 direct replies
seriously?
this is the best you could come up with for April Fools...?
Comment by LumpySpacePrincessx at 01/04/2017 at 04:30 UTC*
327 upvotes, 4 direct replies
This is the cringiest April Fools joke ever
EDIT: Obligatory thank you for the gold!
Comment by [deleted] at 01/04/2017 at 08:42 UTC
61 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Honestly, you don't actually need to make an April Fools Day post if you don't have a good idea for one.
Comment by R3belZebra at 01/04/2017 at 06:30 UTC
95 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Wow. A sub you start off subscribed to has alot of subscribers
Incredible
Comment by newtothelyte at 01/04/2017 at 07:48 UTC
103 upvotes, 2 direct replies
This is one of those things that I bet the mods thought was sooooo funny and random but. It's not.
Comment by [deleted] at 01/04/2017 at 06:56 UTC
135 upvotes, 2 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by DishwasherTwig at 01/04/2017 at 12:54 UTC
9 upvotes, 0 direct replies
And this is my reminder to stay off the internet today because absolutely nothing will be real and nor will it be funny.
Comment by tenkei at 01/04/2017 at 06:16 UTC
55 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Go home April 1st. You're already drunk.
Comment by evannnn67 at 01/04/2017 at 08:38 UTC
80 upvotes, 2 direct replies
wow, it turns out my favorite website really *is* dead.
i'm not mad, i'm just disappointed. did you guys forget it was about to be april fools and come up with this in 10 minutes?