The Missile Knows Where It Is meme stems from a 1997 United States Air Force training audio explaining inertial guidance systems. The script’s repetitive, paradoxical logic—claiming a missile calculates its position by subtracting where it is from where it isn't—became a viral internet copypasta. It rose to mainstream fame as a TikTok sound and image macro template used to satirize confusing technical explanations, bureaucratic jargon, or absurdly circular reasoning. Today, it remains a favorite for military enthusiasts and fans of 'word salad' humor, often paired with footage of projectiles or overly complicated flowcharts to highlight the absurdity of the explanation.