The New Meme That Will Literally Leave You Asking the Question "What in Tarnation?"

By Kelsey Garcia

Updated on 3/2/2017 at 5:45 PM

What started as a simple post on Tumblr is now a glorious meme on the rise. In 2016, a Tumblr user made a joke about the Farmers Only dating app and used the colloquial phrase, "What in tarnation?" Then, in early January, another Tumblr user shared a meme of a dog wearing a cowboy hat with the same caption. Understandably, people found it to be pretty funny and the post ended up getting thousands of shares.

Now, people have applied the same caption to anything vaguely country or cowboy hat related. While the meme is especially effective when it involves household pets — as most memes are — it's since been taken to ridiculous lengths. Check out some examples ahead to find out what in tarnation we're talking about.

The question can be used for all existential dilemmas.

You might have asked yourself the question before.

It can be used as a testy response.

See? Memes are always best when animals are involved.

The internet then started applying it to anything and everything that rhymed . . .

And even things that don't really rhyme at all.

The internet got Beyoncé in on this one, too.

This one is just glorious.

The jokes really write themselves.