It's been some time since Loss had its latest resurgence, but a recent discovery by Twitter user @JkScruf has flipped meme history on its head: the Confused Math Lady meme, most popular in 2016 and 2017, has been a hub of Loss edits for years.

Horrifying revelation I had a while ago that I was too afraid to reveal until now. This is going to blow your minds. I'm sure the majority of the internet is familiar with this image of a woman looking at math floating around her head? (1/3) pic.twitter.com/xt4dvtJRZ2

— Jk (@JkScruf) December 22, 2020

While the meme originally was not a Loss edit, at some point in the meme's development, a variation on the template which put the image's equations in the classic Loss pattern became the defacto meme for variations in the future.

On the left is THE ORIGINAL FORMAT OF THE MEME, and on the right is AN EDIT MADE TO RESEMBLE THE FORMAT OF LOSS.JPG. Surprisingly, as if by some miracle, THE LOSS EDIT BECAME MORE POPULARLY USED IN THE MEME FORMAT THAN THE ORIGINAL. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/NDe5wiG1QU

— Jk (@JkScruf) December 22, 2020

A quick look at our image gallery for Confused Math Lady confirms that multiple Loss edits have been posted across social media by people with no idea of the layers to their meme.

JkScruf ended his thread by concluding that whoever created the first Loss edit of Confused Math Lady did it so well that "the entire internet fell for it and no one was the wiser."

EVERY SINGLE VARIATION OF THIS MEME THAT USES THIS FORMAT OF MATHEMATICAL SYMBOLS IS THEREFORE, BY CONNECTION, LOSS. WHOEVER MADE THE ORIGINAL LOSS EDIT DID IT SO WELL THAT THE ENTIRE INTERNET FELL FOR IT AND NO ONE WAS THE WISER. (3/3) pic.twitter.com/CoASJ7Ma4i

— Jk (@JkScruf) December 22, 2020

Naturally, this revelation ruined the days of all who saw it.

I saw this and now you have to too. https://t.co/SehRru0WbB

— Raptorofwar (@raptorofwar) January 15, 2021

https://t.co/WKHpV80GVv pic.twitter.com/4mIfhgDyP6

— Sam Ballard (@thattpm) January 15, 2021

EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO LOSS https://t.co/fTMdnclV14 pic.twitter.com/CjrePsijXW

— odi ☆彡 (@ODlRlON) January 15, 2021

Hats off to the memer who pulled this off. They may be the greatest Loss poster of all time.