21 Kid

2013Video / Catchphraseclassic

Also known as: 9+10=21 · What's Nine Plus Ten · 21 Meme

The 21 Kid is an internet meme originating from a 2013 Vine video in which a man asks a young boy "What's 9+10?" and the boy confidently answers "21." The clip spawned countless remixes, parodies, and a massive cultural moment on September 10th, 2021 (9/10/21), when the internet collectively celebrated the date when "9+10 really equals 21." It's one of Vine's most enduring exports and a defining meme of the early-to-mid 2010s.

vine kid memesmath memeskid memesnumber memes2013 memes

Overview

The meme centers on a short Vine clip where an off-camera man tells a young boy that he's "stupid." The boy denies it, so the man quizzes him: "What's 9+10?" The boy instantly replies "21," and the man repeats his original claim3. The comedic core is simple: a kid confidently getting basic math wrong while insisting he's not dumb. That six-second loop became one of Vine's most replayed clips and generated a whole ecosystem of remixes, song mashups, and eventually a quasi-holiday built around the date 9/10/21.

On June 22nd, 2013, Vine user @DREHUPEMSU (also known as @WESTROSECRAN) posted the original video3. The clip shows a brief exchange between a man and a young boy, with the punchline being the boy's incorrect answer of "21" to the question "What's 9+10?" Within its lifetime on Vine, the video racked up over 30 million loops, 707,000 likes, and 605,000 revines3. The identity of the child in the video has never been officially confirmed, though he became widely known as "The 21 Kid"3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Vine (source video), YouTube (viral spread)
Key People
@DREHUPEMSU, Unknown boy
Date
2013

On June 22nd, 2013, Vine user @DREHUPEMSU (also known as @WESTROSECRAN) posted the original video3. The clip shows a brief exchange between a man and a young boy, with the punchline being the boy's incorrect answer of "21" to the question "What's 9+10?" Within its lifetime on Vine, the video racked up over 30 million loops, 707,000 likes, and 605,000 revines3. The identity of the child in the video has never been officially confirmed, though he became widely known as "The 21 Kid"3.

How It Spread

The first notable remix came from Vine user BRUH, who posted an edited version that pulled in 7.14 million loops, 185,000 likes, and 145,000 revines3. After the original Vine was deleted, YouTube re-uploads kept the meme alive. On July 7th, 2014, Alondra Morelos uploaded the clip to YouTube, and two days later YouTuber Shadow Subscribe posted another copy3. By December 2014, these uploads had collected over 9.4 million combined views3.

The meme's biggest early boost came on August 29th, 2014, when YouTube user SwiftStar352 uploaded a mashup of the Vine audio with Bobby Shmurda's "Hot Nigga," one of the biggest songs in the country at the time3. That remix hit 14.6 million views and 108,000 likes before being taken down3.

On October 13th, 2014, parody site Huzlers published a hoax article claiming the 21 Kid had run away from home, complete with a fake goodbye note3. The story fooled users across message boards including IGN3. YouTuber WavyWebSurf later confirmed elements of the kid's identity in a video and posted a deep-dive into the hoax on October 3rd, 2020, which pulled over 3.7 million views within a year3.

### 2019 Resurgence

In summer 2019, the meme saw a second wave across Twitter, iFunny, and Instagram3. "Not Funny, Didn't Laugh" edits featuring stills from the original Vine started circulating in April 20193. On July 1st, Twitter user @Timotainment posted a Donkey Kong-themed edit that hit 413,000 views and over 46,100 likes in a month3. Through July 2019, creators like @Zenkho_, @TunnelingOG, professionalretard.mp4, and yupanthony all posted popular variations across multiple platforms3.

### 9/10/21: Judgment Day

The meme's biggest cultural moment arrived in 2021. In January, a Twitter account called @twentyonecount began a daily countdown to September 10th, 2021, the date when "9+10 really equals 21"3. By September 9th, the account had nearly 98,000 followers3. The final countdown tweet on September 9th pulled 51,000 likes and 7,500 retweets in eight hours3.

At midnight on September 10th, @twentyonecount posted "TODAY IS 9/10/21" alongside a video edit by @_Tax_Payer_, earning over 110,000 likes and 32,000 retweets within a day3. The account pushed the hashtag #nineten21, which quickly hit Twitter's trending page3. Instagram pages like @spoobydoo posted "Judgment Day" edits featuring the 21 Kid looming over cityscapes (46,000 likes), while @grandmas.butt posted a meme about the kid manifesting in their room that hit 160,000 views in 11 hours3. Social media users changed their profile pictures to the 21 Kid en masse, and tribute videos from accounts like @salad.snake and @repostrandy each pulled over 88,000 and 151,000 views respectively3.

Urban Dictionary entries from the period reflect the hype, with users describing the kid as "a god among us" who would "decide the world's fate every 9/10/21"2.

Platforms

YouTubeVineTwitterFacebook

Timeline

2013-06

Drake's '21' music gains popularity

2013-07

First viral kids performing the move

2013-08

Peak of trend with daily uploads

2014

Trend gradually fades as other memes emerge

2015-01-01

21 Kid reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2016-01-01

Brands and companies started using 21 Kid in marketing

2018-01-01

21 Kid entered the broader pop culture conversation

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The 21 Kid meme typically appears in a few formats:

1

Direct quote/reference: Simply dropping "21" as an answer to any math-related question, or captioning an image with the "What's 9+10?" exchange.

2

Audio remixes: Taking the original Vine audio and mashing it with popular songs or other meme sounds. The Bobby Shmurda remix set the template for this approach3.

3

Video edits: Splicing the 21 Kid into unrelated footage, often as a punchline or reaction. The 2019 wave popularized "Not Funny, Didn't Laugh" and "Awesome, He Finally" formats using stills from the Vine3.

4

Date-based jokes: Any reference to the number 21, or specifically 9/10 as a date, often invokes the meme. The September 10th, 2021 event showed this at its peak3.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The 9/10/21 event turned a Vine-era inside joke into something closer to an internet holiday. The @twentyonecount account's months-long countdown created anticipation that crossed platform boundaries, with Twitter, Instagram, and iFunny all participating in the celebration3. The hashtag #nineten21 trended on Twitter, and the collective profile picture change showed how a simple math joke could mobilize coordinated internet action3.

The meme also generated a notable misinformation moment when the 2014 Huzlers hoax convinced users on IGN and other forums that the 21 Kid had actually run away3. WavyWebSurf's 2020 debunking video drew millions of views, showing sustained interest in the meme's backstory years after the original Vine3.

The 6-7 meme, which went viral in 2025 through a similarly aged "kid" figure (the "67 Kid"), drew direct comparisons to the 21 Kid format, with both featuring young boys and numerical catchphrases that spread through sports and school culture1.

Fun Facts

The original Vine accumulated over 30 million loops before being deleted, making it one of the platform's most-watched clips3.

The Huzlers hoax article about the 21 Kid running away fooled multiple gaming forums in 20143.

On September 10th, 2021, thousands of social media users simultaneously changed their profile pictures to the 21 Kid3.

The child's real identity was never officially disclosed publicly, though YouTuber WavyWebSurf claimed to have confirmed it3.

The 6-7 meme that went viral in 2025 followed a strikingly similar pattern: a young kid, a number, and school/sports culture driving the spread1.

Derivatives & Variations

Adult 21 Attempts

Adults attempting the same dance move, often with intentionally exaggerated or awkward execution

(2013)

Celebrity 21 Videos

Celebrities and influencers filming themselves or their children doing the 21 gesture

(2013)

Frequently Asked Questions

References (3)

  1. 1
    6-7 memeencyclopedia
  2. 2
    21 Kid - Urban Dictionarydictionary
  3. 3
    21 Kid - Know Your Memeencyclopedia

21 Kid

2013Video / Catchphraseclassic

Also known as: 9+10=21 · What's Nine Plus Ten · 21 Meme

The 21 Kid is an internet meme originating from a 2013 Vine video in which a man asks a young boy "What's 9+10?" and the boy confidently answers "21." The clip spawned countless remixes, parodies, and a massive cultural moment on September 10th, 2021 (9/10/21), when the internet collectively celebrated the date when "9+10 really equals 21." It's one of Vine's most enduring exports and a defining meme of the early-to-mid 2010s.

vine kid memes math memes kid memes number memes 2013 memes

Overview

The meme centers on a short Vine clip where an off-camera man tells a young boy that he's "stupid." The boy denies it, so the man quizzes him: "What's 9+10?" The boy instantly replies "21," and the man repeats his original claim3. The comedic core is simple: a kid confidently getting basic math wrong while insisting he's not dumb. That six-second loop became one of Vine's most replayed clips and generated a whole ecosystem of remixes, song mashups, and eventually a quasi-holiday built around the date 9/10/21.

On June 22nd, 2013, Vine user @DREHUPEMSU (also known as @WESTROSECRAN) posted the original video3. The clip shows a brief exchange between a man and a young boy, with the punchline being the boy's incorrect answer of "21" to the question "What's 9+10?" Within its lifetime on Vine, the video racked up over 30 million loops, 707,000 likes, and 605,000 revines3. The identity of the child in the video has never been officially confirmed, though he became widely known as "The 21 Kid"3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Vine (source video), YouTube (viral spread)
Key People
@DREHUPEMSU, Unknown boy
Date
2013

On June 22nd, 2013, Vine user @DREHUPEMSU (also known as @WESTROSECRAN) posted the original video3. The clip shows a brief exchange between a man and a young boy, with the punchline being the boy's incorrect answer of "21" to the question "What's 9+10?" Within its lifetime on Vine, the video racked up over 30 million loops, 707,000 likes, and 605,000 revines3. The identity of the child in the video has never been officially confirmed, though he became widely known as "The 21 Kid"3.

How It Spread

The first notable remix came from Vine user BRUH, who posted an edited version that pulled in 7.14 million loops, 185,000 likes, and 145,000 revines3. After the original Vine was deleted, YouTube re-uploads kept the meme alive. On July 7th, 2014, Alondra Morelos uploaded the clip to YouTube, and two days later YouTuber Shadow Subscribe posted another copy3. By December 2014, these uploads had collected over 9.4 million combined views3.

The meme's biggest early boost came on August 29th, 2014, when YouTube user SwiftStar352 uploaded a mashup of the Vine audio with Bobby Shmurda's "Hot Nigga," one of the biggest songs in the country at the time3. That remix hit 14.6 million views and 108,000 likes before being taken down3.

On October 13th, 2014, parody site Huzlers published a hoax article claiming the 21 Kid had run away from home, complete with a fake goodbye note3. The story fooled users across message boards including IGN3. YouTuber WavyWebSurf later confirmed elements of the kid's identity in a video and posted a deep-dive into the hoax on October 3rd, 2020, which pulled over 3.7 million views within a year3.

### 2019 Resurgence

In summer 2019, the meme saw a second wave across Twitter, iFunny, and Instagram3. "Not Funny, Didn't Laugh" edits featuring stills from the original Vine started circulating in April 20193. On July 1st, Twitter user @Timotainment posted a Donkey Kong-themed edit that hit 413,000 views and over 46,100 likes in a month3. Through July 2019, creators like @Zenkho_, @TunnelingOG, professionalretard.mp4, and yupanthony all posted popular variations across multiple platforms3.

### 9/10/21: Judgment Day

The meme's biggest cultural moment arrived in 2021. In January, a Twitter account called @twentyonecount began a daily countdown to September 10th, 2021, the date when "9+10 really equals 21"3. By September 9th, the account had nearly 98,000 followers3. The final countdown tweet on September 9th pulled 51,000 likes and 7,500 retweets in eight hours3.

At midnight on September 10th, @twentyonecount posted "TODAY IS 9/10/21" alongside a video edit by @_Tax_Payer_, earning over 110,000 likes and 32,000 retweets within a day3. The account pushed the hashtag #nineten21, which quickly hit Twitter's trending page3. Instagram pages like @spoobydoo posted "Judgment Day" edits featuring the 21 Kid looming over cityscapes (46,000 likes), while @grandmas.butt posted a meme about the kid manifesting in their room that hit 160,000 views in 11 hours3. Social media users changed their profile pictures to the 21 Kid en masse, and tribute videos from accounts like @salad.snake and @repostrandy each pulled over 88,000 and 151,000 views respectively3.

Urban Dictionary entries from the period reflect the hype, with users describing the kid as "a god among us" who would "decide the world's fate every 9/10/21"2.

Platforms

YouTubeVineTwitterFacebook

Timeline

2013-06

Drake's '21' music gains popularity

2013-07

First viral kids performing the move

2013-08

Peak of trend with daily uploads

2014

Trend gradually fades as other memes emerge

2015-01-01

21 Kid reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2016-01-01

Brands and companies started using 21 Kid in marketing

2018-01-01

21 Kid entered the broader pop culture conversation

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The 21 Kid meme typically appears in a few formats:

1

Direct quote/reference: Simply dropping "21" as an answer to any math-related question, or captioning an image with the "What's 9+10?" exchange.

2

Audio remixes: Taking the original Vine audio and mashing it with popular songs or other meme sounds. The Bobby Shmurda remix set the template for this approach3.

3

Video edits: Splicing the 21 Kid into unrelated footage, often as a punchline or reaction. The 2019 wave popularized "Not Funny, Didn't Laugh" and "Awesome, He Finally" formats using stills from the Vine3.

4

Date-based jokes: Any reference to the number 21, or specifically 9/10 as a date, often invokes the meme. The September 10th, 2021 event showed this at its peak3.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The 9/10/21 event turned a Vine-era inside joke into something closer to an internet holiday. The @twentyonecount account's months-long countdown created anticipation that crossed platform boundaries, with Twitter, Instagram, and iFunny all participating in the celebration3. The hashtag #nineten21 trended on Twitter, and the collective profile picture change showed how a simple math joke could mobilize coordinated internet action3.

The meme also generated a notable misinformation moment when the 2014 Huzlers hoax convinced users on IGN and other forums that the 21 Kid had actually run away3. WavyWebSurf's 2020 debunking video drew millions of views, showing sustained interest in the meme's backstory years after the original Vine3.

The 6-7 meme, which went viral in 2025 through a similarly aged "kid" figure (the "67 Kid"), drew direct comparisons to the 21 Kid format, with both featuring young boys and numerical catchphrases that spread through sports and school culture1.

Fun Facts

The original Vine accumulated over 30 million loops before being deleted, making it one of the platform's most-watched clips3.

The Huzlers hoax article about the 21 Kid running away fooled multiple gaming forums in 20143.

On September 10th, 2021, thousands of social media users simultaneously changed their profile pictures to the 21 Kid3.

The child's real identity was never officially disclosed publicly, though YouTuber WavyWebSurf claimed to have confirmed it3.

The 6-7 meme that went viral in 2025 followed a strikingly similar pattern: a young kid, a number, and school/sports culture driving the spread1.

Derivatives & Variations

Adult 21 Attempts

Adults attempting the same dance move, often with intentionally exaggerated or awkward execution

(2013)

Celebrity 21 Videos

Celebrities and influencers filming themselves or their children doing the 21 gesture

(2013)

Frequently Asked Questions

References (3)

  1. 1
    6-7 memeencyclopedia
  2. 2
    21 Kid - Urban Dictionarydictionary
  3. 3
    21 Kid - Know Your Memeencyclopedia