The Ornithoscelida meme stems from the 2017 scientific upheaval where researchers proposed a new clade grouping theropods with ornithischian dinosaurs, challenging over a century of paleontological tradition. While originally a serious academic debate, the term became a calling card for science enthusiasts to meme about the shifting nature of evolutionary biology and the complexity of prehistoric classification. It is commonly used to represent 'big brain' moments in dinosaur discussions or to poke fun at how quickly established scientific facts can be rewritten by new data.