When Marriott Hotels left a cryptic message on their official Twitter account, saying nothing but “MrBuff22”, it’s fair to say more than a few people were confused.
Whether a slip of the thumb, or a moment of madness, the mysterious tweet was deleted a short time later, but not before some eagle-eyed followers took screen shots of the message and began asking: what does it mean?
Sad day, I expect a Press Release from @Marriott on the unexpected tweet & subsequent removal for #mrbuff22 #RIPMrBuff22 pic.twitter.com/bGdF8Txkm6
— Anthony Harte (@Anthony_Harte) July 4, 2017
rest in peace MrBuff22… deleted but not forgotten pic.twitter.com/oPWskh6iqD
— ΓRΛX @ Voyage 7/14 (@Fraxtil) July 4, 2017
Even celebrities like radio’s Chris Moyles got involved.
Morning #mrbuff22
— Chris Moyles (@ChrisMoyles) July 4, 2017
And as the comments rolled in, Marriott maintained a radio silence.
Was he a member of staff?
@Marriott Hi Derrick, I recently stayed at The Marriott Peterborough, can you confirm if MrBuff22 worked in the leisure club? #MrBuff22
— Chris Cotton (@cs_cotton) July 4, 2017
Had he been fired?
Have @Marriott fired #mrbuff22?
— John Jeffrey (@johnr117) July 4, 2017
Others simply mourned his loss:
Taken from us too soon #ripMrBuff22 @Marriott
— Cozzacasablanca (@corinnecolour1) July 4, 2017
Well if my day couldn't get any worse @Marriott and @ChrisMoyles break the news to me #ripmrbuff22
— Adam Hickling (@alhickling89) July 4, 2017
What a sad day for society 😩😢@Marriott #RIPMrBuff22
— Nathan Jorden (@_djnathan_) July 4, 2017
But in a bizarre twist of fate, it seems MrBuff22 really does exist – at least in the Twittersphere, where he seemed as confused as everyone else:
Nice reply to my question LOL
— (((LK))) (@MrBuff22) July 3, 2017
Perhaps a case of pressing send too soon after all.
Here’s another classic fast-thumb fiasco that everyone knows and loves:
Ed Balls
— Ed Balls (@edballs) April 28, 2011
Happy MrBuff22 Day everybody!