VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: A viral phrase called “Six Seven” is taking over classrooms — and teachers can’t escape it.
Danny Erb:
You’ve heard it, you’ve seen it — two numbers that are absolutely sweeping the nation.
It’s a phrase students can’t stop saying, and teachers can’t escape.
Abby Feyerabend:
“Right from the very first day of school, the kids are obsessed with saying the phrase ‘six seven’ — a meaningless phrase. I think they like to say it to kind of get a reaction out of adults, especially.”
Erb:
Abby teaches fourth grade and says what starts online quickly finds its way into her classroom. She’s learned to balance patience and control when the laughter takes over.
Abby:
“So I try to be patient with that, but sometimes it gets a little annoying.”
Erb:
Older students admit the joke isn’t going away — even if no one really knows what it means.
Student 1:
“You know, it’s very funny. Every time it pops up, we yell ‘six seven,’ get in trouble, but it’s fine.”
Student 2:
“I find it pretty funny. Some people don’t — and every time it gets mentioned in school, I just crack up every time.”
Erb:
The trend’s roots trace back to content creator Henry DeTola, better known online as Hoopify, who helped turn it into a viral phenomenon.
Henry DeTola:
“So I remember the first time I saw ‘six seven’ was probably around last February. It was this guy who plays for an Overtime Elite team, and he was trying to get an edit made to a song called Six Seven. So he said it in an interview, and people started making edits of him to that song. That became so big that these little kids started mocking it everywhere.”
Erb:
Even DeTola says the craze reached far beyond social media — right into classrooms.
DeTola:
“My aunt teaches high school. Kids keep saying it nonstop, so I can’t imagine what it’s like. I feel like middle school has to be an absolute war zone right now.”
Erb:
For students, it’s harmless fun. For teachers, it’s an endless echo. And for the man who helped make it viral, it’s a reminder that some jokes are impossible to stop.
Teachers can’t wait for this trend to be over — whether it’s in a week, a month, or six or seven years.
I’m Danny Erb, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)— A simple two-word phrase — “six seven” — has become the latest meme to hijack classrooms and test teachers’ patience across the country.
The nonsensical saying began as an internet inside joke, but educators say it quickly became an in-person obsession.
“Right from the very first day of school, the kids are obsessed with saying the phrase six seven — a meaningless phrase,” said Abby Feyerabend. “I think they like to say it to get a reaction out of adults.”
Older students admit they still find it funny. “It’s very funny,” one student said. “Every time it pops up, we yell six seven, get in trouble, but it’s fine. I just crack up every time.”
The viral moment traces back to basketball content creator Henry DeTola, known online as Hoopify, who says the phrase originated in an interview clip of an Overtime Elite player trying to reference a song titled “Doot Doot (6 7)” by Skrilla.
“That became so big that little kids started mocking it everywhere,” DeTola said.
DeTola says the craze reached far beyond social media — right into classrooms. “My aunt teaches high school, and kids keep saying it nonstop. I feel like middle school has to be an absolute war zone,” he said.
For students, the meme is harmless fun. For teachers like Feyerabend, it’s a constant echo they can’t escape. And for the creator who helped spread it, it’s proof that some jokes can’t be contained — in class or online.
