The 'The Fat Controller Laughed' meme originates from a panel in the 'Railway Series' books, which served as the foundation for the Thomas & Friends television show. It features Sir Topham Hatt, the head of the railway, reacting with a jovial but often perceived as condescending laugh to a character's misfortune or a predictable failure. The image gained massive popularity on platforms like Tumblr and Twitter as a reaction image used to mock someone’s bad luck or to express smug satisfaction. Its humor relies on the stark contrast between the innocent, storybook aesthetic of the original illustration and the often sarcastic or dark contexts in which modern internet users apply it.