An ancient meme from the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh is currently being recycled by LGBTQ people to recall the first time they realized they were gay.
A little back story: The meme comes from the 2006 episode “Mindy Loves Josh,” in which Mindy dumps Josh in hopes that it will inspire him to win first prize at the science fair.
At one point during the episode, she sits down at her computer to research an epidermal parasitic skin disease. As she sips her can of cola, she comments that it’s “interesting.” And so the meme was born.
But, like all memes, its shelf life was short-lived and it was quickly forgotten about.
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Well now, almost 15 years after that original episode aired, gay people have brought the meme back to life.
It all started last week when someone shared the image on Tumblr alongside a photo from the series Smallville depicting actor Tom Wellington shirtless with his arms chained over his head and the caption “12-year-old me realizing I’m gay.”
Eventually, it made its way to Twitter.
— ɥʇɐɯ (@matheus_ocunha) July 25, 2020
And so started the trend.
Pretty soon others were sharing their own memes about their 12-year-old selves realizing they were gay…
Me: pic.twitter.com/YAIasslN6f
— o salão de cabeleleilo da cabeleleila Leila (@ficadetres) July 26, 2020
here’s mine 😋 pic.twitter.com/4aKdiqy0Zb
— LuvHeights (@LuvH3i6HTZ) July 26, 2020
— Justin Randall (@imjustinrandall) July 25, 2020
— Vᴀɪsᴇғᴜᴅᴇʀ.ᴄᴏᴍ (@tedioecontagios) July 26, 2020
— Nikhil (@Nikhil09121) July 27, 2020
— Shalonda Dykes (@idrinkmilk4fun) July 27, 2020
Can I get an Amen!?😅 pic.twitter.com/YPepENQ6kZ
— Dan (@mrde_vil) July 27, 2020
— Paul🌈💜🖖🏻😷 #WeAreStarfleet | He\Him\His (@firstcontact77) July 26, 2020
I robot>>>>> pic.twitter.com/wzT96qMdeB
— Ex-Heterosexual (@anon_homie) July 26, 2020
— Nikhil (@Nikhil09121) July 26, 2020
👁👄👁 pic.twitter.com/HiNtsFbDjy
— 『 J I J I 』 (@jijidraws) July 27, 2020
— tom (@tomkoalabear) July 27, 2020
Mine was Rodrigo Santoro. Hahaha pic.twitter.com/OUZiBhnO0d
— Breno Oliver (@brenooliver59) July 26, 2020
— John August (@johnaugust) July 26, 2020
— เด็กก๊วย (@slimKiddiefun) July 28, 2020
— movie beeferoni (@cdfoudy) July 26, 2020
Since my celebrity crush recently became problematic, I have to resort to this… pic.twitter.com/DKsELv7Dh7
— Dreämy-san says #BLM💕👑 (@Litzeldabreh) July 27, 2020
— Venus Boy (@venus_boy94) July 26, 2020
— Justin Randall (@imjustinrandall) July 26, 2020
WashDrySpin
BORING
STUPID
REALLY BORING
REALLY STUPID
WillParkinson
If you’re referring to your reply, then yes, I agree wholeheartedly.
MISTERJETT
SIGH!!!! EYE ROLL!!!!!!!
JPDonahue
The girl in the meme is not Mindy. It’s Megan, Drake and Josh’s little sister.
Sad that I know this… but… Drake was cute… and now he’s hot!
It is a fun meme!!
dhmonarch89
yep- it was Jon Erik Hexum for me, too!
Chrisk
I miss the old Abercrombie stores. Now they’re generic bores.
trsxyz
back in the day, it was Jan Michael Vincent for me…
missannethrope
It’s Tom Welling, not Wellington.
baggins435
Ron Ely from the TV show Tarzan.
Josh in OR
Young Ricky Martin when he was in Menudo was when my prepubescent heart first skipped a beat.
Adrian Paul as immortal hunk Duncan MacLeod in HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES and the late Kevin Smith (not the director…) as leather daddy Ares in Xena, though….that was when I knew.
ridgelineranger
May I have two please? Mike Henry from the Tarzan movies, and the original Rock…Hudson that is.
rocknstan
Yes, “bisexuals” and “fluids,” your organ knows what it likes.