The 'I Am A Free I Am Not Man A Number' meme stems from the opening sequence and iconic badge of the 1967 British sci-fi series 'The Prisoner.' While the intended phrase is 'I am a free man, I am not a number,' the visual arrangement of the text on certain merchandise and screen captures creates a confusing reading order. This layout became a precursor to the 'Don't Dead Open Inside' trope, where text is split into columns that users naturally read incorrectly from top to bottom. It is widely used to mock poor typography, graphic design failures, and the unintended hilarity of nonsensical phrasing caused by bad formatting.