What Is The 'Meme From 2027' And 'Polar Bear 2026'? The Lore Behind TikTok's 'Opium Bird' And 'Memes From The Future' Explained

An image of a looming bird-like humanoid picture. A half-developed scene featuring a polar bear with a melting appearance. And a tradition of obsessing over "memes from the future." The "Meme from 2027" trend on TikTok appears at the center of several overlapping trends all involving AI-generated imagery of desolate-looking scenes populated with cryptids or cryptid-adjacent figures.

But the most striking of these memes are the ones that feature the Erosion Bird, also known as the Opium Bird. The bird, wearing a calm luh fit consisting of a feathery overcoat in a harsh winter scene, is being heralded as a "Meme from 2027." For those still left confused, here's what all of that means.

What's The 'Meme From 2027'?

Internet users often joke about a meme being so surreal or "advanced" that it can only be understood by someone in the future. Another form of the joke is saying that the meme itself has traveled back in time from the future, making it incomprehensible to the layman in the present year. A popular example of this joke is a reference to "Among Us" memes, and another is a viral Tumblr trend from 2016.

In line with this meme tradition, TikTokers began posting clips of a freakish AI-generated bird-man creature standing next to what is presumably his only friend. The frosty scene is set to glitchy ambient music, oftentimes with a caption that says something to the effect of, "Not yet. You will understand only in 2027." This meme grew viral in Russia and the US in October 2023, soon after the rise of "Erosion Bird" content on TikTok.

What Is The Erosion Bird?

The Erosion Bird is the first iteration of the meme featuring the large white-feathered creature standing in a snowy setting. The image was created by TikToker @Dre, presumably using an AI image generation tool The clip was presented alongside the comment, "Bird-like beings discovered in the Antarctic mountain range (2023)."

In a later video, the TikToker shows another collection of freakish bird images, this time calling them "Opium" birds in response to someone saying that the creatures have dream blunt rotation potential. The clip cemented the bird creatures' meme legacy on TikTok, and kicked off the trend of various other people making their own videos about the "Opium Bird."

What Is The Polar Bear 2026 Meme?

The Polar Bear 2026 meme is a close precursor to the Erosion Bird trend, sparking off sometime in September 2023. The meme is a presumably AI-generated image as well, showing a polar bear holding itself up by his two front paws, all while looking vaguely deformed and melty. The "cursed" image was shared in "creepy" TikTok circles alongside equally creepy music, setting the stage for the cryptid wave that kicked off the Meme from 2027 trend.

For the full history of the Meme from 2027, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.