AAA to AA+: Here come the battery jokes!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- S&P's rating downgrade of the United States has hit a nerve with the public, sparking outrage, confusion and even jokes.

Never before has the world's largest economy been stripped of its prized triple-A status. That changed Friday, when Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. to AA+, a rating still considered high quality, but no longer on top.

After an event like this, whoever thought batteries could be so funny?

Twitter user scaryduck posted: "They've changed the US from AAA to AA. All this time and they didn't realise they were using the wrong batteries."

And simon_price01 said: "Until today I didn't even know America ran on batteries, never mind what size."

Others poked fun at the U.S. for no longer being No. 1. After boasting the triple-A credit rating since 1917, the U.S. is suddenly considered less creditworthy than 15 other countries, (and even the small Isle of Man), which still have the rating.

@GBeerLego wrote: "Canada currently beating us. Not a hockey update, but a credit report?!?"

Even economist Nouriel Roubini, known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, chimed in from a fishing trip in Maine.

"Caught a just downgraded AA+ 11-inch Maine bass. Gotta cross to Canada across lake for AAA fish!" he tweeted..

On Saturday, the phrases "AAA to AA" and "S&P" were two of the most popular terms used on Twitter.

"America went from the AAA to AA? Yay, we're the same bra size!" wrote verymarykate on Twitter.

NoraMKE said, "Yo momma so poor she raised her debt ceiling and the S&P STILL downgraded her."

But of course, not all the commentary is light. The angry public discourse was dominated by finger-pointing in every direction.

Look no further than the roughly 6,000 comments CNNMoney readers have left so far on our initial article about the downgrade.

"Obama is the captain of the ship and he has allowed it to run into the iceberg," wrote a user called GetErDonee.

Another, named DChmu wrote: "Thanks Republican conservatives for running the country into the ground, expecting the Democrats to clean up your mess, and throwing every road block you could in the way of doing just that!"

Others criticized Standard and Poor's, after the company at first miscalculated the growth trajectory of the nation's debt, but then went through with the downgrade anyway.

"If Standard & Poor's is off by trillions in their analysis, then governments and businesses need to seriously question the credibility and competency of this company," wrote atilaDetroit.?

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