Haha, classic: The origins & spread of the chill Smoking Duck

The Smoking Duck meme describes an animated yellow duck shaking his head as he smokes a joint and smoke wafts around him. He wears a little smirk, looks out through half-lidded eyes, and has an air of nonchalance and happily resigned acceptance. What began as a Telegram sticker has grown into a viral meme across social media.

Meme basics

• Meme creator: @zhgun/Telegram
• Meme type: Reaction GIF
• First appearance: September 2019
• Origin source: Telegram
• Peak popularity: March 2024
• Meme variations: Since the original GIF became popular, people have edited the duck to appear as different celebrities, athletes, characters, and more.

Origin and spread

The duck was first shared on Telegram by @zhgun. The sticker, which featured the words "haha, classic" overhead, debuted on September 4, 2019. The GIF was part of a larger sticker package, called Utyka Ducks.

The Smoking Duck first appeared on X.com in the summer of 2020. It first appeared there as a reaction GIF. As the GIF spread, cropped versions of it without the top phrase began to become more popular than the original.

It was that version of the meme that was used by @brandochii in a number of since-deleted posts in early 2024. His frequent use of the gif in viral posts helped it gain a second life. The duck has since become a common reaction for moments that make you think, things that are unbelievable, and times when you just gotta light up and laugh.

Meme variations

The popularity of the smoking duck gif caught the attention of the fandoms that dominate X. Stan Twitter has made versions of the meme to fit jokes and the stars at the top of their fandom.

Meme examples

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