The Thomas the Tank Engine fandom is losing their minds over a meme claiming that an old book in the series includes a racial slur.

The meme has been going viral everywhere from Reddit to X as people try to uncover the truth and figure out why a children's book would include a slur, or if it's just another case of people lying on the internet.

So, is there really a Thomas and Friends book that uses the n-word? Here's what you need to know.

What Is 'Henry the Green Engine' and Does It Include the N-Word?

A lot of people know Thomas the Tank Engine as a massively popular TV series, but long before then, it was a similarly popular series of children's books. The series, created by the Rev. W. Awdry, actually began in the U.K. back in 1945 with the book The Three Railway Engines.

In July 1951, the sixth book in the series, Henry the Green Engine, was published in the U.K. The book contains several short stories about a green train named Henry, including a story titled Henry's Sneeze.

In the original publication of Henry's Sneeze, the n-word is used to describe a boy covered in soot. This became controversial in 1972 and ended up being reported by The National Press, leading series creator W. Awdy to apologize and replace the word with the phrase "as black as soot" in future publications.

So, the answer is "yes," the original publication of Henry the Green Engine did include the n-word.

How Is 'Henry the Green Engine's Racial Slur Used In Memes?

The fact that a children's book in such a beloved series used a racial slur has been shared online throughout the 2020s, inspiring several memes and a lot of reposts of the pages that include the word. Most people simply find it shocking that the book included the word at all, even if Awdry apologized for it later.

Most recently, a meme using a format created by Fallenchungus has revived discourse about the book's use of the word.

The meme counts down the days since several favorite kids' series used the n-word, comedically portraying Thomas and Friends as being the only one to include it at all. Technically, though, it was not Thomas and Friends that included the word, but the original Thomas the Tank Engine book series. Thomas and Friends is the name of the far more modern cartoon series.

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For the full history of Thomas the Tank Engine memes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.