Knee Surgery (meme)

Image of the meme, depicting the Grinch tinted in blue.

The Knee Surgery meme, better known as That Feeling When Knee Surgery Is Tomorrow, is an internet phenomenon that emerged in 2021 and gained significant traction in 2022 and 2024. The meme typically features an image of a blue-tinted Grinch character with the caption expressing anticipation for an upcoming knee surgery. ^{[1] [2]}

History

The meme originated in 2021. The blue Grinch variant was created on March 14, 2022, when the Instagram account @blinch.feels posted an image of the Grinch character tinted blue with the knee surgery caption. This version quickly gained popularity, gaining over 1,000 likes within a year and leading to its reposting on various platforms, including Reddit's r/Kneesurgerymemes and r/OddlySpecific. ^[3]

2024 comeback and variants

In late 2024, the meme experienced a resurgence on TikTok, where users shared videos featuring the blue Grinch image, often accompanied by the caption "THAT FEELING WHEN KNEE SURGERY IS TOMORROW" ^[4] and the song “The Righteous Wrath of an Honorable Man” by Colin Stetson. Variations of the meme have different types of surgeries, different dates, (such as Tuesday instead of tomorrow) and different pictures of The Grinch.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Placido, Dani Di. "The Grinch 'Knee Surgery Tomorrow' Meme, Explained". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
2. Notopoulos, Katie. "The Grinch loves knee surgery. That's it. That's the meme". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
3. Lorenz, Taylor. "The Grinch has knee surgery tomorrow". www.usermag.co. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
4. "What Does the 'Blue Grinch Knee Surgery Tomorrow' Meme Mean?". Yahoo Entertainment. 2024-11-11. Retrieved 2025-04-15.