About

Kowalski "Noted" refers to an image of the penguin Kowalski from the Madagascar franchise writing on a notepad, accompanied by the word "noted." It is used as a reaction image and in image macros.

Origin

The screenshot of Kowalski taking note is from The Penguins of Madagascar season one episode 22, "Roomies." In the episode, the penguins hear Marlene entering the room. Skipper tells Kowalski to "act natural" and he writes on his notepad.

On August 4th, 2014, @ChellieBoomBoom tweeted,^[1] "All in my handy dandy mental notebook" along with an image macro featuring top-text reading "When I peep certain shit, I be like…" and the image of Kowalski taking note (shown below). This is the earliest known use of the screenshot.

Spread

On August 5th, 2014, @DaLastGreatKing posted a tweet^[2] using the same image macro. The image saw occasional use in image macros and as a reaction image^[5][6] over the next few years, particularly on Twitter.

The image saw an increase in popularity in early 2021, particularly on Reddit, thanks to multiple high-interaction posts. On January 5th, 2021, /u/Benjago7 posted an image macro using the image of Kowalski to /r/dankmemes,^[3] garnering over 40,700 upvotes and 70 Reddit awards in 2 weeks (shown below, left). On the same day, /u/itsthat1guy01 posted an image macro to /r/dankmemes^[4] using the same image, garnering over 40,000 upvotes and 50 Reddit awards (shown below, right).

That same day, /u/the_warlock_14 posted another image macro featuring the image to /r/dankmemes^[7] making reference to cavemen discovering milk, garnering over 27,000 upvotes in 2 weeks (shown below, left). Later that day /u/h420n uploaded an original HD version of the meme to /r/dankmemes,^[8] garnering over 31,900 upvotes in the same span of time (shown below, right).

The format saw such significant use on Reddit during January 5th it encouraged /u/AnakinFan28 to post a photoshopped Shrek meme to /r/memes^[9] asking users to stop using the format, garnering over 49,500 upvotes in a comparable span of time (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References