AboutWhat does the meme depict?

The 'If I Had A Nickel' meme features a quote from the character Heinz Doofenshmirtz in the animated movie Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension. In this meme template, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is pictured saying, 'Wow! If I had a nickel for every time I was "doomed" by a puppet, I'd have two nickels-- which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?' This symbolizes situations where uncommon events occur more than once, and is often used to humorously illustrate rare coincidences in different contexts.

OriginWho did it first?

The meme is based on the common phrase, 'If I had a nickel for every time [X happened], I'd be rich', which highlights frequent occurrences. This expression can be seen in older literature, including in Mark Twain's 1809 book Following the Equator, where he humorously contemplates being rich from the frequency of a specific event. The specific line for the meme was spoken by Dr. Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension when he comments on being double-crossed by an evil clone with a hand puppet, reflecting a running gag in the series about his bizarre mishaps. This iconic line was adapted into a meme and first appeared online as a caption on a reaction image on Quickmeme on August 9th, 2011, and subsequently in its more recognizable form with the movie's screenshot on Imgur on April 24th, 2019. The full scene can be viewed on YouTube.^[1]

Origin: 2011