“Syncing” sounds like “sinking.” A popular smartphone joke mentions the RMS Titanic, a British passenger liner that sank in the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 2012.
 
This joke was posted on Twitter on October 1, 2009:
   
Tom Woods (from my uni): “I think you should rename your ipod “The Titanic”, so that when you plug it in, it says, “The titanic is syncing”.
   
“Renamed my iphone The Ship so when i plug it into my computer it says ‘The Ship is syncing’ HAHA (@mmitchelldaviss name yours The Titanic:) ” was posted on Twitter on October 4, 2009. “Name your iPod ‘Titanic’. Plug it in and you’ll get the message ‘Titanic is syncing’. Genius” was posted on Twitter on October 5, 2009, when the joke went viral. The source of the joke is unknown.
 
     
Wikipedia: Sync
Sync and synch are abbreviations of synchronization, the coordination of events to keep them in time.
 
Wikipedia: RMS Titanic
RMS Titanic (/taɪˈtænɪk/) was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912, after it collided with an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. There were an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard the ship, and more than 1,500 died, making it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history. The RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time it entered service and was the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line.
     
Twitter       
Joel Sport
@JoelSport
Tom Woods (from my uni): “I think you should rename your ipod “The Titanic”, so that when you plug it in, it says, “The titanic is syncing”.
11:19 AM - 1 Oct 2009
   
Twitter
Charlsie Chang
@iamcharlsie
I named my iPod “Titanic” so when I connect it to my computer it says, “Titanic is syncing.” I feel like a criminal mastermind right now.
11:21 PM - 1 Oct 2009
 
Twitter   
Jasmine
@jazzzahh
renamed my iphone The Ship so when i plug it into my computer it says “The Ship is syncing” HAHA (@mmitchelldaviss name yours The Titanic:)
7:02 PM - 4 Oct 2009
   
Twitter
Dave Gaskin
@BikerScout
Name your iPod ‘Titanic’. Plug it in and you’ll get the message ‘Titanic is syncing’. Genius.
4:06 AM - 5 Oct 2009
 
Twitter
mike
@HYDRA_Kingpin
Name your iPod ‘Titanic’. Plug it in and you’ll get the message ‘Titanic is syncing’.
4:18 AM - 5 Oct 2009
 
Twitter
Bryan G.
@Raymothe
I can’t take credit for this: Name your iPod ‘Titanic’. Plug it in and you’ll get the message ‘Titanic is syncing’.
4:19 AM - 5 Oct 2009
 
Twitter
Victoria Naumova
@victoriarusso
it’s a deja vu -Titanic is trending, & I’m afraid it’s because of a joke - if u name ur name ur ipod Titanic - it’ll say Titanic is syncing
5:33 AM - 5 Oct 2009
   
Twitter
Lance Williams
@lancewilliams76
I want to name my iPod The Titanic so when I plug it in my computer will say The Titanic is Synching.
6:19 PM - 5 Oct 2009
 
Reddit—Apple
I renamed my iPod ‘The Titanic’ so that when I plug it in, iTunes tells me ‘The Titanic is syncing.’ That is all. (self.apple)
submitted February 26, 2010 by pumppumppump
 
OSXDaily
Syncing The Titanic – iPhone Humor
Jul 27, 2010
Do you like iPhone humor? Of course you do! So, here’s the corniest Apple related joke you’ll see all day, and maybe even all year.
   
Tech Talk
Titanic is syncing
David Bradley
Posted on May 11, 2011
This morning while logged into my wireless router, doing some tweaking to the dd-wrt firmware, I saw an unknown device with the name “Titanic” hooked up to my connection. I got that sinking feeling that someone was either piggybacking my broadband connection or had hacked in and was at this moment downloading all my files!
 
20 April 2012, The Chronicle (Toowoomba, Queensland), “Have a laugh,” pg. 41:
I changed my iPod’s name to Titanic. It’s syncing now.
 
Reddit—Punny
Just saw this list of puns. Thought you guys might enjoy. (self.Punny)
submitted April 29, 2012 by justdowntheroad
I changed my iPod’s name to Titanic. It’s syncing now.
     
Funny Status
Name your iPhone ‘Titanic’, plug it into the computer,…
May 17, 2012 Phone Status Updates
Name your iPhone ‘Titanic’, plug it into the computer, “Titanic is syncing”, press cancel, feel like a hero.
 
Reddit—Terriblepuns
I changed my ipods name to titanic. Its syncing now. (self.Terriblepuns)
submitted March 3, 2013 by awesome_green_ninja
         
Google Books
Supporting Readers in Secondary Schools:
What Every Secondary Teacher Needs to Know about Teaching Reading and Phonics
By Wendy Jolliffe, David Waugh, Jayne Stead and Sue Beverton
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
2014
Pg. 64:
I changed my iPod name to Titanic – it’s syncing now.
 
We Know Memes
I Changed My iPod’s Name To Titanic – Dick Grimes
– JULY 17, 2014
POSTED IN: MEMES, PICS, TV AND MOVIES
 
Reddit—ShittyAskScience
My ipod isn’t working. If I change its name to titanic, will it finally start syncing? (self.shittyaskscience)
submitted September 5, 2015 by _iAmCanadian_
 
Reddit—Jokes
I just changed my iPhone’s name to “Titanic”
submitted January 11, 2016 by mikewonders
I just changed my iPhone’s name to “Titanic” and plugged it in.
It’s syncing now.
 
Twitter
Just me
@nsj1970
#WednesdayWit
Since I changed my smartphone’s name to Titanic, It’s been syncing ever since….😬
12:22 PM - 11 Apr 2018