# Really Makes You Think Really Makes You Think is a sarcastic catchphrase that took hold on 4chan's /pol/ board in 2016, deployed to mock shallow political cartoons, conspiracy theories, and bait posts pretending to be profound. It spread through election-season bait threads and got its unofficial mascot in a clip of Bart Simpson uttering the line, spawning one of the defining sarcasm formats of the 2016 US Presidential Election cycle. ## Origin One of the earliest documented uses of the phrase on 4chan's /pol/ was on April 21st, 2016, where a poster attached it as a caption to a political cartoon[3]. The exact artist of that cartoon isn't confirmed in surviving archives, and the line itself predates the board as a sincere English expression meaning 'this is thought-provoking'[3]. By the end of May 2016, the phrase had shifted from a stray reply into a thread-title convention, with /pol/ users spinning up posts specifically built around variations like 'Hmmm.. really makes you think' and 'Damn... really makes you think'[2][5]. - **Platform:** 4chan /pol/ (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview The phrase works as a deadpan sign-off on posts pretending to be deep, aimed at political cartoons, conspiracy diagrams, and screenshots of tweets that flatter their own audience[1]. Users tack it under an image with an ellipsis, often paired with a thinking-face or a still of Bart Simpson mouthing the words, letting the sarcasm do the work[3]. The joke lands because the caption is played straight, mimicking earnest reactions from subreddits like /r/Im14AndThisIsDeep where the line gets used without irony[3]. On /pol/ during the 2016 election cycle, the format doubled as a bait tactic. A thread would post a liberal meme or news graphic under the title 'Really makes you think,' inviting an inevitable pile-on in the replies[2]. The companion phrase '/pol/ BTFO!' rode alongside it, framing left-wing talking points as self-owns[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Really Makes You Think? It's a sarcastic catchphrase used to mock shallow political cartoons, conspiracy theories, and posts trying to sound profound, most closely tied to 4chan's /pol/ board[3]. ### Where did Really Makes You Think come from? The sincere version predates the meme, but the ironic /pol/ usage traces to an April 21, 2016 post attaching the phrase to a political cartoon[3]. ### What does Really Makes You Think mean? Literally it means 'this is thought-provoking,' but online it's flipped into a deadpan jab suggesting the thing being shared is dumb or transparent bait[3]. ### How do you use Really Makes You Think? It's typically dropped as a caption or reply under a shallow image, often with an ellipsis or a Bart Simpson clip saying the line[1]. ### Is Really Makes You Think still popular? It's a classic 2016-era format that still gets referenced as shorthand for sarcastic 'wow, deep' reactions across 4chan-adjacent communities[2]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhnsC2V4_0w]() 2. [https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/really-makes-you-think]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/really-makes-you-think]() 4. [https://yuki.la/pol/really-makes-you-think]() 5. [https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/damn-really-makes-you-think]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/really-makes-you-think Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library