⁠What is the ‘Guess I’ll die’ meme? Breaking down its popularity

We're taking a trip down memory lane to learn all about the "Guess I’ll die" meme, one that still does the occasional rounds online. Picture this: It's January 2016, the meme world is booming like never before, and a stock image from 2009 that shows an old man in a red sweatshirt shrugging, confused, is going viral. Your life is good.

Take a look at the meme below:

Keep on reading to know more!

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The "Guess I’ll die" meme decoded: its origin, the photographer, the man in question, and more

As reported by Know Your Meme, a meme explaining website, the photo was first used on April 26, 2011, in a Fark forum thread that revolved around the film Atlas Shrugged. In a second instance, the image was uploaded on January 18, 2013, on the site herbatka.soup.io, except the old man's face had an image of a sloth superimposed over it.

The "Guess I’ll die" meme took off thereafter, having grown to become a popular reaction image. That year, it was spotted on sites like Funnyjunk and markb4.wordpress, a blog post. In the years to come, its popularity grew steadily, and by May 22, 2015, a template for "shrugging old man" began showing up on Meme Generator, Know Your Meme reports.

By September 2015, it was booming like never before on Tumblr as well, and the following year, it had officially been coupled with the notorious "Guess I'll Die" statement. Per the outlet, that January, a user named Adam Davis uploaded the image and the caption to Facebook, and the post read: When you're too poor to afford affordable health care."

It was uploaded under the Facebook page "Useless, Unsuccessful, and/or Unpopular Memes." It was an instant hit, amassing over 29,000 shares and 9,300 likes, Know Your Meme has revealed. In the weeks and months since, scores online began rendering their own takes on the meme, with each switching up the caption or superimposing something on the man's face.

Here are some funny examples to get a better understanding of how the meme can be used:

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Notably, on July 31st, 2017, a user called bloodylipservice took to Reddit to upload a Facebook screenshot, one that showed the old man in question wearing a t-shirt with the "Guess I’ll die" meme inspired by him on it. His caption claimed it was a gift from his kids, and he credited his wife, Ann, for taking the photo.