The line comes from The Simpsons, the long-running animated series, and centres on Milhouse Van Houten, Bart Simpson's bespectacled best friend who is often the butt of jokes. The phrase caught on because it sums up Milhouse's unlucky, unpopular image in just three words, making it easy to quote and reuse. Shared as a short clip on soundboards and social media, it spread as a reaction sound for rejection and social exclusion. Its appeal has lasted because the insult is instantly understood, even by viewers who only know Milhouse as the show's perennial outsider.