Where did the ‘I may not have a brain, gentlemen, but I have an idea’ reaction meme come from?
A quote from a 2009 animated film is making the rounds across social media platforms as users joke about making stupid decisions.
“I may not have a brain, gentlemen, but I have an idea” first originated on Reddit and is now making its way around TikTok. It joins other film- and TV-inspired memes enjoying popularity on TikTok, from the “someone cooked here” meme inspired by Breaking Bad to the Bill Hader dancing meme.
The “I may not have a brain” meme comes courtesy of the 2009 animated film Monsters vs. Aliens, specifically the scene when one of the characters — B.O.B., short for Benzoate Ostylezene Bicarbonate — comes up with a plan.
Because B.O.B. is technically a tomato brought to life after a scientist injected chemically altered ranch dressing into him, he doesn’t have a brain, but that doesn’t stop him from developing his idea.
The meme started on Reddit in 2019, evolved to an image shared on Twitter in 2021 and then spread to video format through YouTube and TikTok in 2022 and 2023.
when you're a player in #DnD and it's time to make a plan: pic.twitter.com/DhiwrGIM5n
— King 👑 Amy (@sephiramy) August 13, 2021
Some uses of the audio refer to math that isn’t quite matching:
Employing the use of artificial intelligence to ramp up one’s resume:
One TikToker included the movie’s original scene as a background when using the meme to add to the full effect of B.O.B.’s friends turning to him as he drops his infamous line.
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