Aliens (Ancient Aliens Guy)

What's in the picture

In the still, Giorgio Tsoukalos sits in a room with warm, dim lighting in the background. He's wearing a tweed jacket and a striped tie, and his thick dark hair is heavily tousled. His hands are raised in an explanatory gesture, his face carries a half-smile and narrowed eyes, as if he's sharing a very important conclusion that, in his view, is obvious to anyone.

It's precisely the combination of a confident tone and flimsy argumentation that makes the still suitable for a meme. The gesture and facial expression convey seriousness, while the caption overlaid on top adds ironic subtext. The viewer sees an expert speaking persuasively, and understands that the content of his words is far from proven.

The meme's history

Ancient Aliens premiered on the American channel History in 2009 as a two-hour special, with the regular series starting in 2010. Tsoukalos serves as a producer and regular host, as well as the show's chief proponent of the "ancient astronaut" hypothesis, according to which extraterrestrial civilizations helped humans in antiquity. The program presents such theories uncritically, and it's precisely this presentation that became material for mockery.

Variations of the meme began appearing as early as November 2010. Users overlaid the caption "I'm not saying it was aliens, but..." onto the still, with the rest of the sentence changing depending on the situation. The exact author of the original image and the first caption hasn't been clearly established, so the meme's creator remains unknown.

The meme quickly became known across the English-language internet, and then spread into the Russian-speaking space under the name "Aliens did it." In 2015, during a Reddit AMA, Tsoukalos admitted that he likes the meme and that being embraced by the internet audience is a great honor for him.

How the meme is used

A typical caption follows the pattern "I'm not saying it was aliens, but..." followed by a continuation explaining some unusual event through extraterrestrial intervention. For example: "I'm not saying it was aliens, but someone rearranged all the mugs in the kitchen" or "but socks don't just leave the washing machine on their own."

Most often the meme is applied to minor everyday things that are hard to explain rationally: missing items, strange noises at night, unexpected equipment malfunctions. The irony is heightened by the fact that the speaker maintains the look of a scholar, while the absurd theory is presented as an obvious conclusion that requires no proof.

The template also works as a parody of pseudo-scientific rhetoric. According to one internet-culture dictionary's definition, the meme mocks the confident tone in which theories far removed from reality are presented as fact. That's why even a short caption, in the right context, reads not just as a joke but as commentary on the very way such claims are presented.

Why the meme stuck

The main reason for its popularity is the contrast between the confident tone and the absurdity of the subject. The viewer hears serious speech from an expert, the content of which goes beyond the bounds of reason. This device is easy to parody, so the template quickly adapts to any situation.

The second reason is the recognizability of the image. Tsoukalos's appearance and manner of speaking became a visual trademark of the show, which let the template be recognized without explanation. According to an analytics service's calculations based on Google Trends data, the meme is among the most frequently searched templates for meme generators in the US.

Finally, the phrase is very short and easily altered, which leaves room for improvisation. Users can "explain" almost anything minor with aliens, and so the meme is constantly refreshed with new examples. It's precisely this that let "Aliens did it" survive waves of fashion and remain part of everyday humor.