Classic Internet Meme Images and Where They Came From

The pictures behind the internet's best-known memes, shown wherever possible as they were before anyone added a caption. Each one earned its place by becoming a reusable template that people still recognize at a glance. The captions say who or what is in the picture, who took or made it, and how it spread. Many of the people pictured were children, models or bystanders who never set out to be famous, so the focus here is on the story rather than the joke. Drawn characters such as Trollface and Pepe are a different story and are left out, with one exception: the This Is Fine strip, which became as widely used as any photo. The gallery runs in the order the images caught on, from a 1980s home video of a cat at a keyboard to a baby hippo in 2024.