Expanding Brain

Who? Whom? Whomst? Whomstdve? Whomstdvely? TRANSCENDENCE.

On January 31, 2017, Reddit user janskishimanski posted an image to r/dankmemes. It showed a progression of increasingly elaborate brain illustrations, each paired with increasingly absurd variations on the word "who." The post received nearly 1,200 upvotes. A cosmic meme was born.

The Expanding Brain format emerged from the "Whomst" meme—a mockery of people who use overly complicated language to sound intelligent. But it quickly evolved into something more profound: a satirical hierarchy where objectively worse ideas were paired with larger, more illuminated brains. The format was ironic by design. The galaxy brain take was always the stupid one.

"Drinking water / Drinking soda / Drinking gamer bath water" paired with increasingly cosmic consciousness. "Paying for content / Pirating content / Waiting for someone to post it for free" ascending through dimensions. The meme celebrated terrible ideas through the veneer of intellectual evolution.

By February 2017, Expanding Brain had exploded across Reddit. YouTuber BagelBoy's video version accumulated over 2.1 million views. Major outlets covered the phenomenon. The format became the go-to template for ranking anything from "reasonable" to "incomprehensibly galaxy-brained."

The meme peaked in 2017-2018 before settling into background usage. It never truly died—you can still find Expanding Brain content today—but its moment of cultural dominance passed.

We had glimpsed the infinite. We had touched the cosmic brain. And then we moved on to the next meme, as we always do.

Ascend, sweet format. Ascend to the stars.