About

"What The Hell Is This and Why Did My Grandson Like It" refers to a series of photoshopped images featuring the phrase as a Facebook comment by an elderly woman. The phrase has also been used as a catchphrase on various message boards.

Origin

On October 13th, 2016, Facebook^[1] user Hex Manaic posted a screenshot from Facebook of an elderly Facebook user responding to a two-panel hentai post of a woman saying "Wanna touch my…loli ass?" According to the watermark, the original post, which has since been deleted, comes from Facebook user Dextah 2.0.^[2] The comment from user Gladys Nelson reads, "What the hell is this and why did my grandson like it." The post (shown below) received more than 3,200 reactions and 4,100 shares 13 months.

Spread

Days later, the Nelson's comment had already been photoshopped onto different images. On October 14th, Facebook^[3] user Craigstwistedbrain added it to a meme featuring actor John Candy in the film National Lampoon's Vacation with the caption "Sorry folks no fuckin posers." The post (shown below, right) received more than 350 reactions and 80 shares in 13 months. The next day, Shitpostbot 5000 ^[9] user AGNIMURTHY submitted the meme under the name "Concerned Grandma."

The following week, Facebook^[4] user MutualistAnarchists posted an image of a black and yellow anarchist symbol with the comment attached. The post (shown below, center) received more than 100 reactions and 20 shares.

On January 12th, 2017, Facebook^[5] user fcklobbos posted the comment under a picture of a lobster. The post (shown below, right) received more than 1,600 reactions and 230 shares.

The phrase also became a copypasta on messageboards, such as Reddit ^[6] and 4chan (shown below). ^[7]

On September 11th, 2017, the Facebook^[8] account "What the hell is this and why did my grandson like it?" launched. As of November, it had received more than 470 members.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References