Monkeys have always been in the running for internet meme royalty, right alongside cats, and the "Thinking Monkey's" expressive face has made him the perfect human stand-in.
The photo shows a monkey caught in a moment of quiet contemplation, his eyes looking up and off to the left, and his finger held to his mouth, as if he were going, "Hmmm…"
The oddly serene photo shows the animal photographed with a bright flash against the backdrop of a sparkling blue ship port, and it has now become the internet's shorthand for joking about being deep in thought.
Here's the origin story of where the image of the Thinking Monkey meme came from.
Where Did the Image of the Thinking Monkey Come From?
The earliest known post of the Thinking Monkey appeared on December 25th, 2011, when DeviantArt user anagw8 uploaded a photograph titled "Gibraltar Monkeys."
The shot captures a Barbary macaque standing in front of a seaport, staring up and to the left with one finger pressed to its mouth.
Gibraltar, a British territory off Spain’s southern coast, is famous for its free-roaming macaque population. The animals are also the only wild monkeys in all of Europe.
The photo has accumulated over 6,000 views and 11 favorites in the 14 years since its upload, and though it sat quietly online for nearly a decade, someone eventually found the photo and saw its meme potential in 2024.
How Is the Image of the Thinking Monkey Used in Memes?
The Thinking Monkey began gaining traction in early 2024. One of the earliest viral uses came from Instagram user @jasiah, who included it in a slideshow with the text, "What if I d- you down on some lowkey ish." Posted in early 2024, it gathered over 20,000 likes in two years, though it was likely a repost from another meme page.
On February 4th, 2024, the Instagram page @monitos_monkey shared a low-resolution version of the image. The post racked up over 90,000 likes in a year, proving that sometimes the more low-quality a meme is, the funnier it seems.
Two days later, on March 4th, 2024, X user @chismosavirus paired the photo with the caption, "when the iced coffee starts tasting like I need an almond croissant to go along with it," gathering over 40,000 likes in a year.
Finally, on March 6th, 2024, Instagram user @acousticboiii used the meme with the text, "when the police officer asks me if I have been drunk driving so I hit him with one of these." This version became the most widely shared, pulling in over 180,000 likes in a year.
What Are Some More Thinking Monkey Memes?
For the full history of the Thinking Monkey meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
