The Guess I’ll Die meme features an iconic stock photo of an old man in a red sweater shrugging alongside the caption, “guess I’ll die.” Ever since it was used on Facebook to complain about the high cost of healthcare in the U.S., it’s become one of the most recognizable memes on the internet.
It remained popular for years, morphing to respond to many other situations in which death seems inevitable.
What is the Guess I’ll Die meme?
The meme most often includes the original photo of Mike Baldwin, the man shrugging his shoulders with his hands up in a gesture expressing an “oh well” attitude in his bright red sweater. The original version of what is considered the official version of the meme sports the caption “guess I’ll die.”
Its format is frequently altered to replace Baldwin with another person shrugging in the same manner. Many fictional characters have been drawn or Photoshopped into the meme, and others have altered it to say “guess I’ll rant” or “guess I’m gay” and other variations.
Guess I’ll Die man’s origins
Guess I’ll die man, known to his loved ones as Mike Baldwin, was first uploaded to iStockphoto by his wife Ann on October 6, 2009. At the time it was posted, Balwin was a 76-year-old retired chemistry and biochemistry professor, and his wife was experimenting with photography after her arthritis began making it difficult for her to paint.
The first known use of the stock photo was in 2011 on a Fark forum while users argued about the film version of Atlas Shrugged.
Guess I’ll Die meme spread
The photo became a popular reaction image over the next five years, particularly on Tumblr, which was entering something of a meme renaissance.
Although it’s unclear if this was the first use of the image paired with the caption “guess I’ll die,” this version went viral after a Facebook user posted it on January 6, 2016, in response to difficulty accessing medical care. The top caption read: “When you’re too poor to afford affordable healthcare.”
The inspiration for the captions came after Adam Davis met with a healthcare advisor to try and manage the rising costs that were depleting his savings, only to hit a brick wall.
“I went to meet with a healthcare advisor and left that meeting feeling completely distraught,” Davis told Gizmodo. “I sat in the parking lot afterward and audibly said to myself the words that became the meme: ‘You’re too poor to afford affordable healthcare’ […] followed with, ‘Guess I’ll die.’”
The meme took off from there, and “guess I’ll die meme” became the official designation of the phenomenon.
Mike Baldwin reacts
Around three years later, Baldwin posted another photo of himself to his own Facebook page performing a similar shrug while wearing a t-shirt that sported the meme.
“About 3 years ago a stock photo of me shot by Ann went viral as a meme on Facebook,” he wrote. “Since then my image has appeared on tee shirts, mugs, towels, you name it.”
Meme examples
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