A picture made of chalk or crayon with a bald man hanging from a large round-nosed wall with the caption "Kilroy was here" is the world's first viral meme.
Although the meme was not started by American troops in World War II, it was definitely associated with them. This meme continued to spread throughout the world even after the end of the war.
This little drawing became a public joke. Citizens competed to make "Kilroy was here" memos in remote, obscure places, even on the American Statue of Liberty torch, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Marco Polo Bridge in China, the George Washington Bridge in New York and hospitals. I even made this meme on the belly of pregnant women.
The name is thought to be derived from J. J. Kilroy, a welding inspector at Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Company in Massachusetts, USA.
According to the New York Times, Kilroy's co-workers were annoyed with him for not inspecting his work, so Kilroy was annoyed to write Kilroy was here on ship parts and instead of marking it as usual. He started making a bald man with a long nose.
When these ships went to ports around the world, the warriors would find this drawing when they opened the sealed compartments.
