The American Mind Cannot Comprehend This
Part of a series on The European Mind Cannot Comprehend This. [View Related Entries]
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About
The American Mind Cannot Comprehend This is a catchphrase derived from the 2023 "The European Mind Cannot Comprehend This" meme, which jokes about perceived cultural differences between Europe and the United States. Discussions about the topic resurfaced on X / Twitter in late April 2025 after the page @CigsMake uploaded a picture of a woman smoking in front of a Spanish outdoor cafe and bar, saying "The American mind cannot comprehend this," which prompted users to create photoshopped and AI-generated versions of the photo to mock the statement.
Origin
Discussions related to the The European Mind Can’t Comprehend This meme initially gained viral attention on September 3rd, 2023, when X[1] user @powerbottomdad1 posted an image showing a Google Maps screenshot that showed the time it takes to travel from New York City to Los Angeles by car.
This inspired X user @ronny_kurz[2] to post the earliest known "The American Mind Cannot Comprehend This" version of the joke on September 4th, showing a common German window style being opened. The post (seen below) amassed over 164,000 views and 5,400 likes in two years.
Spread
The catchphrase had a resurgence on X in late April 2025 after the page @CigsMake[3] posted a picture of a woman smoking in front of a Spanish outdoor cafe and bar on April 25th, 2025, captioning it, "The American mind cannot comprehend this." The tweet amassed more than 77 million views and 103,000 likes in four days.
The picture quickly sparked more mockery and comparisons between Europe, the U.S. and other regions as it spread online.
For instance, on April 28th, 2025, X[4] user @YIMBYLAND posted an AI-generated version of the woman smoking in front of a Spanish bar picture, adding a darker tone filter about the Spain and Portugal blackouts that occurred that day. The post (seen below) amassed more than 4 million views and 134,000 likes in a day.
Also on April 28th, Newsweek[5] reported on the virality surrounding the image from Spain in an article titled "Millions View Photo That 'American Mind Cannot Comprehend.'"
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] X – powerbottomdad1
[2] X – ronny_kurz
[5] Newsweek – Millions View Photo That 'American Mind Cannot Comprehend'
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Top Comment
Vourler
Apr 29, 2025 at 07:54AM EDT