About

Why I am so bald? is a frequently-repeated phrase used in parodies of the webcomic Penny Arcade,^[1] a webcomic created by Mike Krahulik^[2] and Jerry Holkins.^[3] Posted below is the February 14, 2007 edition of the comic.

Although the characters Tycho and Gabe are loosely based upon the comic's creators, it is a common misconception that they are meant to look like them. This is particularly evident given that Holkins is bald in real life. Because of this IRL baldness, an Anon in 4chan's /v/ created a photoshopped version of the comic above, but this time with a bald head.

Other references

From the Lurkmore Wiki:^[4]

A /v/ meme that was created from an edit of a Penny Arcade comic. This meme has spawned numerous edits of Penny Arcade strips, referencing that Gabe and Tycho's comic personas (which are usally mistaken for literal avatars) don't look like their real selves, specifically Tycho's lack of hair. Other associated quotes are "Why am I so pig-like in appearance?" and "Do you like the vidya games?" Currently, every single new Penny Arcade comic is subjected to a photo of "WHY I AM SO BALD?/WHY AM I SO BALD!?" This is one of /v/'s most popular memes.

Variations

Other images of a bald Tycho have been made, and other images with bald men have had the phrase "Why I am so bald" or "Why am I so bald" superimposed as a reference to the original shoop.

4chanarchive

Although most sources list /v/ as the board where the image was first posted, the original thread was not archived. One of the earliest instances of the phrase "Why I am so bald" in chanarchive.org comes from 4chan's /v/ in thread 4385573, posted July 3rd, 2007.^[5]

Google Insights:

External References

^[1] Penny Arcade

^[2] Wikipedia – Mike Krahulik

^[3] Wikipedia – Jerry Holkins

^[4] Lurkmore Wiki – /v/WHY I AM SO BALD

^[5] chanarchive.org – dutch 'beauty and the geek' contestant