# Can I Copy Your Homework?
Can I Copy Your Homework? started as a Twitter joke format in late 2016 pairing two pieces of pop culture where one looks suspiciously derivative of the other. Posts use the schoolyard script about borrowing a classmate's assignment and changing a few details to avoid obvious plagiarism. By January 2017, the Friends versus Living Single version of the joke drew Daily Dot coverage.
## Origin
The format first appeared on Twitter on October 18, 2016, when @essentialpeach tweeted several comparisons between animated features from DreamWorks, Disney, and Pixar, including Up and Kung Fu Panda, alongside lesser known movies that borrowed from them[2]. A handful of similar posts went up over the next two months without catching on widely[4].
- **Platform:** Twitter
- **Creator:** @essentialpeach (earliest known format); @castofhp (viral version)
- **Date:** 2016
## Overview
Each Can I Copy Your Homework? post places two images side by side with a short three-line script. One speaker asks 'Can I copy your homework?' the other agrees but says to change it so the copy isn't obvious, and the first speaker replies 'ok'[1]. The humor comes from the comparison implying that the second image is a lightly disguised knockoff of the first, with the imitation always presented as inferior to the source[4].
Early subjects ran from animated films and musicians to sitcoms and celebrity lookalikes. The template works best when the two subjects share obvious visual or structural similarities, letting the dialogue stand in for an accusation of copying. Posts tend to use film and TV screenshots or celebrity photographs instead of illustrations[1].
## How to Use
Posts follow a three-line script. The first line asks 'Can I copy your homework?' the second says some version of 'yeah just change it a bit so it doesn't look obvious you copied,' and the third replies 'ok.' Each line sits beside a related image, with the second and third images showing the supposed knockoff next to the original. Common subjects include two musicians who look alike, TV shows with mirrored cast structures, or films that borrow plot elements.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Can I Copy Your Homework??
A Twitter joke format from 2016 that compares two pieces of pop culture, suggesting one looks like a knockoff of the other with small changes made to disguise the copying[1].
### Where did Can I Copy Your Homework? come from?
The earliest version came from @essentialpeach on October 18, 2016, in a tweet comparing animated films[2]. It went viral in December 2016 through a @castofhp tweet comparing Ed Sheeran and Rupert Grint[3].
### What does Can I Copy Your Homework? mean?
It accuses one piece of pop culture of imitating another, with the dialogue mimicking the schoolyard trick of copying a classmate's work and tweaking it so the copy isn't obvious[4].
### How do you use Can I Copy Your Homework??
Post two images with the three-line script asking to copy homework, agreeing to tweak it so the copying isn't obvious, then replying 'ok,' placing the alleged imitator next to the original[3].
### Is Can I Copy Your Homework? still popular?
Peak attention came in late 2016 and early 2017 during the Friends versus Living Single discussion covered by The Daily Dot[1]. The script is still referenced when people call out suspicious copying between two pieces of pop culture.
## References
1. [https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/hey-can-i-copy-your-homework-meme/]()
2. [https://twitter.com/Essentialpeach/status/788545578028326913]()
3. [https://twitter.com/castofhp/status/810400611959275521]()
4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/can-i-copy-your-homework]()
5. [https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/815057891266674688]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/can-i-copy-your-homework
Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library