The 'Mario Punching Yoshi' meme originates from a long-standing debate among Super Mario World fans regarding the sprite animation of Mario making Yoshi stick out his tongue. While many players initially believed Mario was simply pointing forward, a 2017 interview with Nintendo developers confirmed that Mario is indeed 'punching' or 'bonking' Yoshi on the head to trigger the tongue reflex. This revelation turned a wholesome childhood memory into a dark internet joke about Mario's questionable treatment of his companion. The template is widely used to represent betrayal, sacrifice for one's own gain (referencing the infamous double jump), or a sudden realization that something innocent is actually quite harsh.