AboutWhat does the meme depict?

The "We Did It, Patrick! We Saved the City!" meme features a still image from the animated television show SpongeBob SquarePants, depicting the characters SpongeBob and Patrick standing in front of a burning cityscape. Notably, despite the apparent devastation behind them, the characters are celebrating. This ironic image is typically used online as a reaction or to portray situations where someone declares success despite obvious disastrous results.

OriginWho did it first?

This meme originates from an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants titled "Wormy", which aired on Nickelodeon on February 17th, 2001. In the episode, SpongeBob and Patrick are tasked with caring for a caterpillar that eventually turns into a butterfly, leading to panic and chaos in Bikini Bottom. Misinterpreting the catastrophic result of their actions as a success, SpongeBob jubilantly exclaims, "We did it, Patrick! We saved the city!" as the town burns in the background. The scene was later converted into a meme, used to humorously underscore disastrous 'successes.' The full episode can be viewed here.^[1]

Origin: 2017