Talking Ben comes from Talking Ben the Dog, a mobile app in the Talking Tom and Friends series where the grumpy dog repeats speech and reacts with short laughs and grunts. The character found a second life online when clips of Ben answering calls and laughing were remixed on TikTok and YouTube, turning his chuckle into a shorthand reaction. Like the baby laughing meme, it survives because the sound is instantly recognisable, family friendly and easy to drop into almost any funny moment without explanation.