AboutWhat does the meme depict?

The "Disaster Girl" meme features a photo of a young girl with a sly smile, superimposed onto various backgrounds depicting chaotic scenes like natural disasters or accidents. This editing suggests that the girl in the image is the cause of the turmoil behind her.

OriginWho did it first?

The original photo used for the "Disaster Girl" meme was captured by Dave Roth in January 2005 during a controlled fire training exercise by the local fire department two blocks from his home in Mebane, North Carolina. The image shows his daughter Zoe with a mischievous smile, set against the backdrop of a burning house. Initially shared by Roth on Zooomr as "Firestarter" on January 2nd, 2007, the photo didn't gain significant attention until it was entered into JPG Magazine's "Emotion Capture" competition on November 29th, 2007 and later featured in the magazine's February/March 2008 issue. You can explore more about Dave Roth's work on his website and blog. Further, the initial upload to Zooomr can be seen here and the JPG Magazine entry here.^[1]

Origin: 2007