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Thought they'd be bigger tbh

This two-panel meme contrasts popular media depictions of anglerfish with their actual real size. The top panel shows a large, terrifying, monstrous anglerfish with a huge gaping mouth full of sharp teeth, which matches how most people imagine this deep sea fish. The bottom panel shows a real anglerfish, which is actually tiny enough to fit comfortably on the palm of a person's gloved hand, with the small fish circled in red to highlight its unexpected small size. The text at the top reads 'Thought they'd be bigger tbh' (short for 'to be honest'), expressing the common expectation that anglerfish are much larger than they actually are. This is a screenshot of a Twitter/X post from verified user selinam, handle @bennynotblanco.
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Thought they'd be bigger tbh

Overview

This two-panel meme contrasts popular media depictions of anglerfish with their actual real size. The top panel shows a large, terrifying, monstrous anglerfish with a huge gaping mouth full of sharp teeth, which matches how most people imagine this deep sea fish. The bottom panel shows a real anglerfish, which is actually tiny enough to fit comfortably on the palm of a person's gloved hand, with the small fish circled in red to highlight its unexpected small size. The text at the top reads 'Thought they'd be bigger tbh' (short for 'to be honest'), expressing the common expectation that anglerfish are much larger than they actually are. This is a screenshot of a Twitter/X post from verified user selinam, handle @bennynotblanco.

Origin notes

This meme originated as a post on Twitter/X from verified user @bennynotblanco (username selinam), and this specific version is a repost hosted on 9Gag per the given source information. It is a viral fun fact meme that plays on common public misconceptions about the size of deep sea anglerfish, and has circulated widely across social media platforms.

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This is a two-panel expectation vs reality meme. The top panel shows an intimidating, large close-up of a deep-sea anglerfish with huge sharp teeth, matching the common scary popular depiction of anglerfish that most people see. The bottom panel shows a real anglerfish, which is actually very small, small enough to fit in the palm of a person wearing rubber gloves, and it is circled in red to highlight its unexpectedly tiny size. The text at the top of the image reads 'Thought they'd be bigger tbh', expressing the poster's surprise that real anglerfish are much smaller than popular media depictions lead people to believe.

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