Sheldon Cooper is the socially awkward theoretical physicist at the centre of The Big Bang Theory, and his exaggerated reactions became one of the sitcom's most recognisable running jokes. Clips of his panicked screaming circulated on soundboards and in meme edits, where editors stripped the moment from its original scene and reused it as a universal reaction to shock. Because the voice is so distinctive and the scream is so short, it works without context, which has kept it popular for reaction videos, gaming fails and comedy edits long after the show ended.