Expanding Brain Meme

People couldn't get enough of the absurdity of comparing trivial ideas with exaggerated brain sizes, sparking laughter and relatability. The meme's ironic twist on intellectual superiority made it a perfect vehicle for playful mockery.

The Expanding Brain meme humorously illustrates levels of intelligence through increasingly elaborate brain images.

Users deploy the Expanding Brain meme to humorously depict the perceived intelligence of different ideas or phrases. For example, a post might show 'who' with a small brain and 'whomst'd've' with a massive brain, poking fun at language pretentiousness.

The Expanding Brain meme emerged from the 'Whomst' meme on Reddit, where variations of 'who' were paired with brain images of increasing size. A notable early version was posted by janskishimanski on January 31, 2017, gaining nearly 1,200 upvotes.

1. 2017-01The Expanding Brain meme is first popularized on Reddit with a post by janskishimanski.
2. 2017-02A video version of the meme by BagelBoy goes viral, gaining over 2.1 million views.

The meme quickly spread beyond its original context, with variations appearing on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, often applied to topics like politics and pop culture. By February 2017, it was featured in a viral video by BagelBoy that amassed over 2.1 million views.