BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Is this 1921 cartoon the first ever meme?

  • Published
    16 April 2018
Share page
About sharing
On the left of the cartoon, a well-dressed attractive gentleman is captioned with "How you think you look when a flashlight is taken". On the right, an unattractive gentleman is captioned with "How you really look".Image source, The Judge
ByTom Gerken
BBC UGC & Social News

Is this 1921 cartoon the first recorded meme?

When this comic was posted to Twitter, external, it caused excitement as people began to wonder, external if it was the first meme - a format-dependent joke, typically of a picture with a caption or subtitle - ever published.

But we've found a version of the joke using the same format printed at least a year earlier in either 1919 or 1920.

Both draw from the same template of the 'Expectations vs. Reality, external' joke, which contrasts two pictures side-by-side with an obvious discrepancy between them.

You may also like:

  • How do you pronounce 'meme'?

  • Obama sends 'bro' Biden a meme for his birthday

  • The top memes and viral videos of 2017

The comic was first posted to Tumblr, external by Yesterday's Print - a user that shares historical content to "highlight the parallels of past and present".

It was subsequently reposted with new captions such as, external "you/the guy she tells you not to worry about", referencing yet another contemporary template meme, external.

Some users created their own takes on the format using other memes such as 'If You Don't Love Me / Can't Handle Me, external'.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by ✨Your MUSE✨

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by ✨Your MUSE✨

Where does it come from?

The comic was found in a 1921 edition of satirical magazine The Judge, external, published by the University of Iowa.

Within The Judge, the comic is then credited to a different magazine - the Wisconsin Octopus, published at the University of Wisconsin between 1919 and 1959.

By looking through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, we were able to view a few early editions of the Wisconsin Octopus magazine, and found this is not the first time the 'Expectations vs. Reality'-format joke appeared in print.

In an edition published in either 1919 or 1920, the following comic (which is very dated by today's standards) can be found, external:

The cartoon is called 'Arranging a Date'. On the left of the cartoon, one man describes a beautiful woman to another man captioned "As Your Roommate Describes Her". On the right of the image, the woman is supposedly unattractive by 1919 standards and is captioned "As She Is".Image source, Wisconsin Octopus

What is a meme?

  • The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene

  • Dawkins called memes "ideas that spread from brain to brain"

  • The Oxford English Dictionary, external defines memes as images, videos or text that are copied and spread by internet users, often with variations

Is it 'the first meme'?

According to the definition, a single image cannot be a meme. It has to be copied and spread with variations to the original image.

So on its own, the 1921 comic is not a meme. But coupled with the comic from either 1919 or 1920, it begins to fit the definition, as the two comics are variations on the same style - using two panels and captions to set-up an expectation and contrast it with reality.

While we can't say with certainty that this is the first meme by that definition, we can say that because it was copied and spread with variations this cartoon was genuinely part of a pre-internet 'Expectations vs. Reality' meme.

Clearly the writers of the Wisconsin Octopus magazine were ahead of their time.

More on this story

  • How do you pronounce 'meme'?

    • Published
      7 September 2017
    Gemma Collins
  • Obama sends Biden a meme for his birthday

    • Published
      21 November 2017
    Obama and Biden in White House
  • The top memes and viral videos of 2017

    • Published
      29 December 2017

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Donald Trump and First Lady Melania board Air Force One as UK state visit ends

    • 44126 viewing44k viewing
  • Trump suggests Starmer could use military to control UK borders

    • Published
      33 minutes ago
  • First migrant deported to France under 'one in one out' deal

    • Published
      8 minutes ago

More to explore

  • Royals, Maga and tech CEOs: What we learned from state banquet guest list

    A long dining table with dignitaries seated down either side is seen in a banquet hall, with staff and press against the walls.
  • The Summer I Turned Pretty to conclude with feature film

    Lola Tung, left, wears a low cut silver dress as she places her right hand on teh shoulder of her I Turned Pretty co-star Christopher Briney on a red carpet. Behind them is a poster that says The Summer I Turned Pretty: The Movie.
  • 'Slot-age time' - breaking down Liverpool's late success

    • Attribution
      Sport
    A composition graphic of Arne Slot, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah celebrate some of Liverpool's late winners
  • Leonardo DiCaprio on why his new film addresses 'divisiveness in our culture'

    Leonardo DiCaprio attends the "One Battle After Another" London Premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on September 16, 2025 in London, England
  • In pictures: Chequers, scout groups and a dolls' house - day two of Trump's state visit

    The Princess of Wales (left) and First Lady Melania Trump in Frogmore Gardens in Windsor, Berkshire, on day two of US President Donald Trump's second state visit to the UK.
  • Fashion risks going backwards on diversity, says ex-Vogue boss

    Edward Enninful in a suit and bow tie
  • 'Day by day, year by year' - Borg on cancer diagnosis

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Bjorn Borg waits to serve during the 1980 Wimbledon final against John McEnroe
  • 'Ultimate in cancel culture': Fans outside Jimmy Kimmel studio react to show's axing

    Split image of man on the right and woman on the left outside Jimmy Kimmel studio in LA
  • Katty Kay: Why America is at a dangerous crossroads following the Charlie Kirk shooting

    A treated image of Charlie Kirk in front of the flag, with his hand pointing up
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Corbyn and Sultana clash over new party membership

  2. 2

    Scientists pinpoint the brain's internal mileage clock

  3. 3

    First migrant deported to France under 'one in one out' deal

  4. 4

    Two teenagers charged over Transport for London cyber attack

  5. 5

    In pictures: Chequers, scout groups and a dolls' house - day two of Trump's state visit

  6. 6

    'Cataclysmic' situation in Gaza City, UN official says, as Israeli tanks advance

  7. 7

    Trump suggests Starmer could use military to control UK borders

  8. 8

    Macrons to offer 'scientific evidence' to US court to prove Brigitte is a woman, lawyer says

  9. 9

    Sweet treats for Kate and Melania as they host Scouts

  10. 10

    Man who died in double shooting named as 'suspect'

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Stacey and Joe welcome you back to Pickle Cottage

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Stacey & Joe
  • What's the future of home parcel delivery?

    • Attribution
      Sounds
  • The state of the UK-US special relationship examined

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Trump and Starmer
  • A couple's search for the Croydon cat killer

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Illuminated: The Cat Killer Detectives
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.