About
But 9 + 10 Equals 19 or I Know But He Says 21 and it’s Hilarious is an exploitable[1] meme format referencing the 9 + 10 = 21[2] meme in which one character expresses confusion over the idea of 9 plus 10 equating to 19, and the other explains the joke, saying, “I know but he says 21 and it’s hilarious.” The original meme was posted by Instagram[3] user StDabbers in April 2020 and is an edit of a political comic or cartoon by artist David Horsey, published in the Los Angeles Times in July 2016. The meme saw a surge in popularity throughout 2025. Notably, the same comic was used for versions of the Kung Pow Penis[4] meme in 2018.
Origin
On July 26th, 2016, David Horsey published an editorial for the Los Angeles Times titled “Disappointed Bernie fans resist Sanders’ hopeful view of Hillary Clinton[5],” that includes several political comics by Horsey. The first comic shows Senator and Democratic Presidential nominee Bernie Sanders[6] talking with a supporter, who’s wearing a “Feel the Bern[7]” shirt. The supporter says, “B-B-But Bernie! How can you endorse her? Hillary’s the embodiment of all that’s wrong with America!” Bernie responds, hand on her shoulder, “No, she’s just a politician. You’re thinking of Trump!”
On April 10th, 2020, Instagram user StDabbers posted an edit of the comic in which the supporter says, “But 9 + 10 equals 19” and Bernie answers, “I know but he says 21 and it’s hilarious,” explaining the viral “9 + 10 = 21” meme, garnering over 6,300 likes in five years.
Spread
In 2025, the meme started to see a resurgence as the subject of edits and redraws[8] using the same catchphrase[9] that references the 9 + 10 = 21 meme.
On January 12th, 2025, X user @cronchytime posted a redraw of the meme replacing the characters with Damon and Eva from Project: Eden’s Garden, garnering over 3,600 likes in nine months.
On February 15th, X user @DirectorLyric posted a redraw[10] of the meme replacing Bernie with Spider-Man[11] and the supporter with the Winter Soldier, garnering over 122,000 likes in eight months.
On February 17th, Redditor[12] u/modsarestraight posted a redraw of the meme to the /r/OkBuddyPersona subreddit referencing the Persona[13] series, garnering over 2,500 upvotes in the same span of time.
On March 7th, 2025, X user @DerkDrew124 posted a version of the meme redrawing Bernie and the supporter as characters from the game Class of ’09[14], garnering over 1,000 likes in seven months.
The meme was then reposted to the /r/classof09Game subreddit that day, garnering over 1,200 upvotes in the same span of time.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
References
- ^ exploitable (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ 9 + 10 = 21 (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Instagram (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Kung Pow Penis (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Hillary Clinton (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Bernie Sanders (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Feel the Bern (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ redraws (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ catchphrase (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ redraw (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Spider-Man (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Redditor (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Persona (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Class of ’09 (knowyourmeme.com)