What Is The 'Hamster With Big Eyes' Or 'Sad Hamster' Meme? The Viral Format Appearing On TikTok With Sad Violin Music Explained

The great hall of sad internet animals got a new addition last week with Sad Hamster, a little guy with giant, boba-like eyeballs who just looks so dang sad as a very familiar sad song plays on the world's smallest violin.

He's been taking over TikTok over the past week, as users have found something keenly relatable in this helpless fella, following a long line of hamster memes, including Hampter and wiping tears with a hamster, both of which saw some variations on TikTok. Here's the history of the Sad Hamster meme.

Where Did This Sad Hamster Come From?

It's not entirely clear where this hamster came from, but we do know it appeared on Twitter before it appeared on TikTok. On February 9th, 2024, a video of the hamster (the same one in the above TikTok by @schmetterling471), was posted to Twitter by Doguindolink. Two days later, schmetterling471 posted the video to TikTok and it took off like wildfire, as users began editing the clip in a variety of ridiculous ways.

Others have found artistic inspiration for the hamster, and several TikToks showing users making art or food based off the hamster have spread widely as well.

The edit of the hamster may be a play on the "Is it really worth it?" meme, which had several popular iterations that compared the black eyes of hamsters to boba.

What Song Is Playing In The Background Of The Sad Hamster Meme?

If you thought you'd heard that violin song that soundtracks the hamster memes before, you're probably right. The song is called "Woe Is Me!" and it was recorded for and used liberally in SpongeBob SquarePants. Perhaps most notably, a sped-up version of the song serves as "a sad song on the world's smallest violin" played by Mr. Krabs in the episode "Squilliam Returns."

For the full history of Sad Hamster, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.