The Oreo Separator Machines meme originated from a 2013 promotional campaign by Nabisco, which featured several artists and engineers building elaborate, over-engineered devices to separate the cream from the chocolate cookie. The most famous machine, built by David Neevel, became a viral sensation for its deadpan humor and unnecessary complexity. In meme culture, these machines serve as a visual metaphor for over-complicating a simple task or selectively removing unwanted parts of a situation. It is frequently used to represent people ignoring their responsibilities or meticulously extracting the only part of something they actually enjoy.