About

Perhaps refers to an image of cow Otis from 2006 animated film Barnyard paired with the caption "Perhaps". Starting in 2017, the image macro has been circulated online as a subtle way of admitting something morally or legally questionable. The meme is based on the same scene as Mmmm Cow.

Origin

On August 4th, 2006, German-American animated film Barnyard ^[1] premiered in the United States. In one scene of the movie, character Otis, a cow, teases a mailman by dancing and making faces behind his back, while quickly assuming a neutral pose when looked at.

Spread

On May 3rd, 2017, Facebook account funnylookingdog posted an image of Otis. The post received more than 100 likes and 80 shares.^[5] That day, they published a four-panel meme ^[4] featuring the image and the caption "Perhaps." The post received more than 745 shares and 100 reactions (shown below).

On May 29th, 2017, Redditor ^[2] 4packgo4 posted a close-up of Otis paired with the caption "Perhaps" to /r/dankmemes subreddit. The post gained over 380 upvotes in four hours before it was removed by the subreddit moderators.

On June 5th, 2017, Redditor^[3] DaddyFarquar posted another meme based on the macro to /r/MemeEconomy subreddit. The post gained over 7,800 upvotes in six months.

In the following years, the image macro has seen consistent use on Reddit and other online platforms, often as a way of indirectly confirming deviant inclinations in order to safely check for the other person's intentions.

Related Memes

Mmmm Cow

Mmmm Cow refers to a series of video edits of a scene from Barnyard in which Otis teases a mailman behind his back. In the videos, Otis is either replaced with other While the first video within the format went viral in October 2020, it did not achieve popularity until February 2021. The meme is based on the same scene as Perhaps.

Templates

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References