About

When Was X Invented? refers to the two paneled image format in which the top panel shows a search bar including a query regarding the year something was invented and the bottom is a comedic image of life before that date. The format became popular on Reddit in October 2019.

Origin

On October 23rd, 2019, Redditor jadiririor posted an the first iteration of the meme to r/prequelmemes^[1] and gained over 19,900 points (95% upvoted) in two days (shown below).

Spread

On October 24th, Redditor zoomboy6 posted an image in the fame format but used a melted Peter Griffin to illustrate life with out calcium to r/dankmemes^[2] (shown below). The post garnered over 47,500 points (95% upvoted) in a day.

That same day, Redditor TheThunderGuy posted a variation about life without helium to r/dankmemes^[3] (shown below, left). The post accumulated over 3,600 points (97% upvoted) in a day. On October 25th, Redditor FearOfLAVA posted an image about life without wheels to r/dankmemes^[4] (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References