AboutWhat does the meme depict?

The "And Then I Said" meme features an image macro of groups of people laughing. Each meme includes a caption starting with "And then I said" or "And then we said," followed by either an empty promise or an implausible proposition. These humorous contrasts highlight the disparity between what was said and the actual outcome. This meme template is visually and conceptually similar to the "X They Said" meme series, which also plays with the juxtaposition of promised versus actual results.

OriginWho did it first?

The "And Then I Said" meme was originated by a post on Reddit by Redditor raks1991 on July 25th, 2011. The post, under the title "We told them.." in the r/pics subreddit, featured a photograph of prominent politicians such as Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. laughing, accompanied by the caption "We told them wealth would 'trickle down'!" This photograph was captured by Time magazine photographer Diana Walker after an interview with President Ronald Reagan by Walter Cronkite in the Oval Office on March 3rd, 1981. Additionally, the phrase "And then I said" has been frequently employed in television as a way to frame stories or events being recounted by characters, often serving as punchlines. This usage is documented in detail on the TV Tropes page.^[1]

Origin: 2011