The 'I Could've Dropped My Croissant' meme originates from a viral 2014 Vine video by user Chris Melberger. In the short clip, another person surprises Chris while he is walking through a doorway holding a croissant on a plate. His high-pitched scream followed by the indignant exclamation, 'Stop, I could've dropped my croissant!', became an instant internet classic. The meme is primarily used to represent situations where someone is startled while holding something precious or when a minor inconvenience is treated with dramatic urgency. It remains a staple of nostalgic Vine culture, frequently appearing in 'best of' compilations and used as a reaction image for being unnecessarily startled or protecting something trivial.