Haha, thanks for pointing me to that comment. It’s especially hilarious to me because I wrote a blog post nearly 10 years ago about exactly how to configure SSH+VNC like that[1][2]. It was even featured in the now-defunct Hacker Monthly.
I appreciate your theorizing on its staying power. It’s interesting to think about why a particular phrase sticks with people.
[1] http://shebang.mintern.net/tips-for-remote-unix-work-ssh-scr...