I’m Nothing Like Y’all: a fish meme

I’m Nothing Like Y’all are exploitable memes originating from an inspirational stock photo of a goldfish jumping from a bowl full of other goldfish into an empty bowl next to it.

Meme basics

• Meme creator: @molo2002/IMGFLIP
• Meme type: Exploitable, Image macro
• First appearance: May 2016
• Origin source: IMGFLIP
• Peak popularity: May 2021
• Popular variations: Different images of jumping goldfish and deep-fried versions of the original

The base for the meme is a stock image of a goldfish, who is in a bowl full of many goldfish, leaping into an empty bowl just next to it. The inspirational image is meant to be inspirational and conjure up feelings of bravery and the desire to take a leap of faith. The photo was first shared online in May 2012, per The Wayback Machine.

Origin and spread

The image first started appearing in memes in 2016. Currently, the earliest version of it is a wholesome, inspirational version that appeared on IMGFLIP in May 2016.

Other versions of the meme feature an expletive at the end of the phrase helped drive the meme viral for the first time later in the year. That version of the meme would go viral again in 2019 before it reappeared as I’m Nothing Like Y’all in 2020, first shared on Reddit’s r/whothefuckup by u/MysteriousMrB.

I’m Nothing Like Y’all songs

Many releases in 2024 have referenced the phrase. There’s an album by the same name released by cj’sgeeked, which uses the meme as the album art. There are also a few singles by the same name, though their creators have not confirmed or denied whether the titles are a coincidence or direct inspiration.

Recent use

In 2022 and 2023, the meme saw renewed interest, particularly across TikTok and Twitter. The meme first appeared on TikTok in a gallery post in November 2022.

It continued to appear in that form, with some calling the dedication to the meme “Nothing Like Y’all-core.” Memes with this hashtag show some kind of variation of the meme, or reference it in different settings or with different characters. This leads to many variations on the meme that make it applicable to a wider audience than its wholesome beginnings might.

Meme examples

@ShivaStaySteady/X

More animal memes:

• The rise of the Hampter
• The Smiling Dolphin meme is actually a porpoise and he’s tired
• Vamos…a mimir
• ‘The government wants him killed on sight,’ and by ‘him,’ we mean this meme
• Just 29 iconic Moo Deng the hippo memes
  

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.