Baldi comes from Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning, an independent horror parody game released in 2018 in which a seemingly friendly maths teacher turns hostile after the player answers questions incorrectly. His escalating anger became one of the game's most recognisable jokes, and short clips of his shouting were quickly shared across YouTube, TikTok and soundboard sites. Creators still reuse the outburst because it is instantly recognisable to players, works without any visual context, and turns a small error into a loud, exaggerated punchline.