Tech

Mark Zuckerberg applied a ton of sunscreen to ride a $12,000 electric surfboard, and memes have compared him to everything from the Joker to Mrs. Doubtfire

mark zuckerberg
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. AP Photo
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is once again the center of a widespread meme, but this time it's not tied to a congressional grilling.

Instead, the image comes from a recent surfing excursion where the 36-year-old billionaire took a very thorough approach to sun protection.

In the image, Zuckerberg is seen in Hawaii on an electric surfboard (thus the controller in his hand). The board is said to be a $12,000 model from Efoil, according to the New York Post.

Rather than latching onto the electric surfboard, though, people goofed on Zuckerberg for appearing as if he'd been made up like a mime.

But that's no face paint!

Zuckerberg was likely wearing zinc oxide-based sunscreen, which acts as a physical sunblock from sun rays hitting your skin – not the worst idea given his fair complexion. In addition to being more effective in blocking harmful rays, physical sunscreens have regained favor among some, as the active ingredients in chemical-based sunscreens have faced scrutiny from the US Food and Drug Administration. 

The comparisons rolled in, from the standard mime reference to semi-obscure anime references:

Though Zuckerberg is primarily based out of California like the company he runs, he owns massive swaths of land in Hawaii. Among those is a 750-acre property on the North Shore, which he paid somewhere around $100 million for back in 2014. 

Editor's note: Chemical-based sunscreen is effective, but active ingredients within it (namely avobenzone, oxybenzone, and octinoxate) are being identified and reexamined by the FDA as a potential endocrine disrupter (and carcinogen). These chemicals have also been linked to high mortality among corals, along with a growing list of other aquatic creatures. 

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Ben was a senior correspondent based in New York City. He specialized in coverage of video games, consumer technology, food, and culture.He has a BA in magazine journalism from Temple University. He wrote for the Philly Weekly and served as a senior reporter at Joystiq before joining Engadget as a senior editor in 2012.Ben joined Tech Insider as a member of the founding staff in April 2015 and transitioned to Insider in July 2016. He doesn't like writing in the third person.