The ‘October Used To Be Cold’ meme, explained
The "October Used To Be Cold" meme is a phrase that uses older image macros or screenshots from popular media to express this fact. Its ominous vibe, while making a statement about global warming without using the words, fits nicely with the spooky season leading up to Halloween.
The idea that October has been getting warmer over the years is not a new one, but in 2024, the statement hit full meme status across multiple platforms. It's not as fun as other fall memes, but it's familiarly hitting a particular nerve.
Meme basics
- Meme Creator: Tumblr user whatsdifferentincanada
- Meme Type: Image macro / Catchphrase
- First Appearance: 2022
- Origin Source: Tumblr
- Used to Convey: Climate change dread
- Peak Popularity: October 2024
Origin and spread
The earliest known example of the "October used to be cold" meme appears to have come from Tumblr in 2022. The original post has been lost to time, but a Reddit user preserved a screenshot in the same year showing a "Sure, grandma, let's get you to bed" meme with the old woman saying the phrase.
The Tumblr post is from the account whatsdifferentincanda, and the exact date is unknown. Reddit user TotemGenitor reposted it along with a comment arguing against climate deniers on November 5, 2022.
The meme didn't see much interest until just over two years later and began to really take off after October 5, 2024. On that day, Twitter user @iambrattyb posted a screenshot of Grandpa Simpson telling a story to a group of kids with the text "And October used to be cold."
'October Used To Be Cold' meme popularity
The tweet went viral with over 6.2 million views and over 383,000 likes in less than a week. Naturally, other users were quick to imitate the Twitter original with screenshots from other shows as well as reaction gifs and alternate meme formats.
On October 6, user @anarchoboognish posted a similarly viral tweet with a variation of the meme from Tumblr. The grandma still says the same line, but instead of telling her to get to bed, the woman says, "That is entirely your fault, grandma." This one gained over 14.9 million views and 580,000 likes.
Meaning and cultural context
It's likely no coincidence that this meme resurfaced with such a bang so soon after two separate and severe hurricanes hit the west coast of Florida within days of each other. These latest natural disasters, as well as recent historic heat waves, have once again caused a spike in discussion about the worsening climate crisis and who's to blame.
The original versions of the meme express a type of despair sometimes called "doomerism" in which (oftentimes young) people feel that catastrophic, uncontrolled climate change is inevitable. These individuals foresee a future where they are old and telling disbelieving future kids about the before times.
Memes like the one by @anarchoboognish place the blame for the inaction that allowed climate change to spiral into a crisis on today's older generations. At the same time, internet users who don't understand how climate works are complaining that their area of residence is still quite cold in October.
Meme examples
@lux_ravenous From Listening to Oil Company Ads Tbh.???? #fyp #memes #foryoupage #rocketleaguememes #relatable #relatablememes #luxsuxs ♬ ALL MY FELLAS - Frizk
Related memes:
- Climate change memes are disrupting the feel-good ’10 year challenge’
- People are making memes of Hurricane Milton wanting his stapler back
- The Amazon rainforest is on fire–and people are using memes to cope
- The funniest October 1 memes to kick off Halloween month
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