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No Time to Convince You
Unisex tee · XS–3XL
$39.99
Hover to zoomGradually, Then Suddenly Bitcoin T-Shirt
$39.99
An orange domino caught mid-tip above GRADUALLY, THEN SUDDENLY and a small Bitcoin symbol, a literary line for patient bitcoiners.
- Unisex tailored fit, sizes XS–3XL
- Free US shipping over $75, $4.99 below
- 30-day size exchanges on unworn tees
About this design
A single orange outline domino with a center line and two rows of dots is tilted at a steep angle, caught partway through falling, above GRADUALLY, and THEN SUDDENLY in two lines of bold white capitals. A small tilted orange Bitcoin symbol sits centered below the words.
Fabric, fit & print
| Material | Airlume combed & ring-spun cotton |
|---|---|
| Fit | Unisex tailored crew neck |
| Printed to order | |
| Sizes | XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL |
| SKU | BC-GRADUALLY |
Shipping & exchanges
Ships in 3–4 business days, tracked. See the shipping policy and returns & exchanges.
The story
Behind the Gradually, Then Suddenly tee
Some changes creep, then arrive all at once, and bitcoiners love a line that captures that feeling. A single domino leans over just before the fall, with the famous phrase stacked beneath it.
The phrase comes from Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. Asked how he went bankrupt, the character Mike Campbell answers that it happened in two ways: gradually, and then suddenly. People have borrowed the line ever since for anything that builds quietly and then arrives fast. Writer Parker Lewis also used the title for a series of bitcoin essays. This shirt is an independent design with no connection to either.
Pull it on for a long-term-minded crowd: a meetup, a bookstore, a weekend away. Readers will recognize the line, and everyone else will just see a domino waiting for its moment, which is a fine thing to wonder about over coffee.
Questions
About this design
Where does the phrase Gradually, Then Suddenly come from?
It is spoken by Mike Campbell in Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises, published in 1926. Another character asks how he went bankrupt, and that is his answer. The line has since turned up everywhere as shorthand for slow buildups that end in a quick shift.
Is this shirt connected to Parker Lewis or his essays?
No. Parker Lewis wrote an essay series called Gradually, Then Suddenly about bitcoin, and the title is a nod to the same Hemingway line. This is an independent shirt design, not affiliated with him, his publisher or anyone else, and no endorsement is implied.
Why a half-fallen domino on the front?
A domino chain is a neat picture of slow setup and sudden payoff: nothing seems to happen, then everything does. The drawing freezes the moment just before the fall, which pairs well with the words and keeps the whole design to one clean orange line-art object.
Keep stacking
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