It’s a format everyone’s seen in some form — a meme template about one astronaut shooting another for discovering a startling truth about the world.
But it’s come in many different iterations since 2016, and its history and use (and relationship to Ohio) is more surprising than most people believe.
Here’s the full story of the viral meme “Wait, it’s all Ohio? Always has been.”
Where Did ‘Wait, It’s All Ohio? Always Has Been’ Come From?
“Wait, it’s all Ohio? Always has been,” often shortened to just “Always has been” when used as an exploitable format, is the name of a meme about two astronauts floating in space.
Since it first appeared in its earliest form in late 2016, it’s become a redraw format over the years, as well as a format to show a shocking (ironic) realization one could conceivably be killed over discovering.
Way before most versions you’ve probably seen in recent years, it started as a humble MS Paint drawing of an astronaut discovering the Earth is flat, with the other astronaut behind them preparing to keep it a secret. This version, which references the absurd Flat Earth theory, was first posted to Reddit in December 2016.
Then, in August 2018, another MS Paint drawing appeared when an anonymous 4chan user posted the earliest known version of the template, using America as the surprise and creating the more well-known framing of the meme format that uses the phrasal template “Wait, it’s all X?” “Always has been.”
Ultimately, this meme isn’t about Ohio, since the often-overlooked Midwestern U.S. state was added into a later version due to Ohio’s notoriety in internet culture.
Ohio already appears in many memes, with millions on the internet uniting as a collective to complain about it, and more recent trends claiming it’s a surreal land full of anything from cryptids to the many criminal artists formerly known as Florida Man.
Instead, the inclusion of Ohio is merely a reference to one of the most notable early iterations of the meme, where an iFunny user named iOhioan uploaded a version in which the astronaut discovers the world is entirely Ohio.
How Is ‘Always Has Been’ Used In Memes?
Though the format now appears in several different formats, the basic structure is essentially the same in all of them. It’s a single image in which one astronaut looks at the Earth (or another object in its place) and makes a startling realization, while the other, out of his view, holds a gun up to the first man, saying, “Always has been.”
Perhaps the most common template nowadays is a more realistic edit of the image’s concept, which similarly depicts the scene of the two astronauts floating in space while looking down at the planet.
This more realistic-looking version of the Always Has Been meme was first shared in June 2020 when Redditor nickslicktricks posted it to the /r/memes subreddit and replaced the continents with chicken tenders.
While the most traditional way to make an Always Has Been meme is to use the easily recognizable template with the astronauts, it is also an evolving and highly adaptable meme, so numerous versions tweaking the original imagery while retaining the same joke and phrasal template are also commonly used.
What Are Some More Examples Of The ‘Always Has Been’ Meme?
The ‘Always Has Been’ Meme Template
For the full history of “Wait, it’s all Ohio? Always has been,” be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.