By nature, most memes are ever-changing. They are as popular as they are because of the ability to repurpose and remix them in ways both creative and unhinged. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth appreciating the places that they came from. The original versions of classic memes are often some of the most humorous, but their message can get lost over time.

This has been underlined by a recent Twitter thread. Claiming that the original versions of memes are always the best, people were ready with numerous examples to show that famous formats were at their funniest from their humble origins. It offers a good lesson in meme history, as well as giving us a reminder of some truly amusing pieces of internet legend. All of these dumb things that we consume on the daily have to come from somewhere, and it’s nice to know that their origins do not disappoint.