The origin
A 3D-rendered baby doing a cha-cha began as a sample file demonstrating character animation software.
How it spread
It travelled by email attachment and appeared on television, becoming one of the earliest genuinely viral objects in 1996.
What it means
The origin point. Before formats and captions, a meme was simply a file you sent to someone.
Follow the source
Short editorial summary written by Random Access Memes from the sources above; the wording is ours, not theirs. Every link was checked for a live response on September 13, 2026.
