Cartoon Figure Psyduck Becomes Popular Chinese Meme for Venting People’s Emotions

A customer waits to pick up her order outside a KFC restaurant where a table is set up at the entrance for contactless pickup of orders placed online in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China on Feb. 14, 2020. cnsphoto via Reuters

When Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) rolled out a promotion in China that included a Psyduck toy in its kids meals, the cartoon figure quickly became immensely popular as people started using it in memes making fun of the COVID restrictions.

June 1st is Children’s Day in China. KFC and the Pokémon Company launched a children’s meal package, that included a free Pikachu or Psyduck toy. The Psyduck meal became so popular that supplies soon ran short.