About

But 9 + 10 Equals 19 or I Know But He Says 21 and it's Hilarious is an exploitable meme format referencing the 9 + 10 = 21 meme in which one character expresses confusion over the idea of 9 plus 10 equating to 19, and the other explains the joke, saying, "I know but he says 21 and it's hilarious." The original meme was posted by Instagram user StDabbers in April 2020 and is an edit of a political comic or cartoon by artist David Horsey, published in the Los Angeles Times in July 2016. The meme saw a surge in popularity throughout 2025. Notably, the same comic was used for versions of the Kung Pow Penis meme in 2018.

Origin

On July 26th, 2016, David Horsey published an editorial for the Los Angeles Times^[1] titled "Disappointed Bernie fans resist Sanders' hopeful view of Hillary Clinton," that includes several political comics by Horsey. The first comic shows Senator and Democratic Presidential nominee Bernie Sanders talking with a supporter, who's wearing a "Feel the Bern" shirt. The supporter says, "B-B-But Bernie! How can you endorse her? Hillary's the embodiment of all that's wrong with America!" Bernie responds, hand on her shoulder, "No, she's just a politician. You're thinking of Trump!"

On April 10th, 2020, Instagram^[2] user StDabbers posted an edit of the comic in which the supporter says, "But 9 + 10 equals 19" and Bernie answers, "I know but he says 21 and it's hilarious," explaining the viral "9 + 10 = 21" meme, garnering over 6,300 likes in five years.

Spread

In 2025, the meme started to see a resurgence as the subject of edits and redraws using the same catchphrase that references the 9 + 10 = 21 meme.

On January 12th, 2025, X^[3] user @cronchytime posted a redraw of the meme replacing the characters with Damon and Eva from Project: Eden's Garden, garnering over 3,600 likes in nine months.

On February 15th, X^[4] user @DirectorLyric posted a redraw of the meme replacing Bernie with Spider-Man and the supporter with the Winter Soldier, garnering over 122,000 likes in eight months.

On February 17th, Redditor u/modsarestraight posted a redraw of the meme to the /r/OkBuddyPersona^[5] subreddit referencing the Persona series, garnering over 2,500 upvotes in the same span of time.

On March 7th, 2025, X^[6] user @DerkDrew124 posted a version of the meme redrawing Bernie and the supporter as characters from the game Class of '09, garnering over 1,000 likes in seven months.

The meme was then reposted to the /r/classof09Game^[7] subreddit that day, garnering over 1,200 upvotes in the same span of time.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References