The Blinking Guy meme, featuring Drew Scanlon, originated from a 2013 'Unprofessional Fridays' video on the gaming site Giant Bomb. Scanlon's reaction of genuine confusion and rapid blinking while a co-worker played a game became a viral sensation years later in 2017. Known as the 'Blinking White Guy,' it is the universal internet shorthand for disbelief, shock, or being stunned by something nonsensical. The vertical blank version allows creators to pair the reaction with a specific text or image above it to highlight the contrast between a statement and the resulting confusion.