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What's The Ship Being Spammed In Twitter Replies? The 'HMS Undaunted' And The Confusing Trend Explained
There's a painting of a ship called the HMS Undaunted that's being spammed on Twitter / X in strings of replies under unrelated posts. Why, exactly?
The ship photo is confusing a lot of people and that's totally understandable. It's just a picture of an 1800s British Navy vessel and for some reason, in our modern times, it's made a resurgence.
One Twitter user is to blame for this. Let's explain what's going on.
What Was The 'HMS Undaunted?'
The HMS Undaunted was a British Royal Navy ship that was built in 1807. Perhaps the vessel's most famous journey was sailing late French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to exile on Elba in 1815 — known in memes for the quote, "There is nothing we can do."
The HMS Undaunted was also the name of two other ships that were used by the British in World War I and World War II. However, their likenesses aren't used in the 2025 meme trend.
What's The 'HMS Undaunted' Painting Used In Memes?
The image of the ship used on Twitter is the painting HMS 'Undaunted' off Dover by late artist Thomas Whitcombe. It was created in 1820, and it's currently owned by the Royal Museums Greenwich.
The painting is the main photo of the vessel on its Wikipedia page, which plausibly led to its eventual use in memes.
Where Did The 'HMS Undaunted' Meme Come From?
A Twitter user named @GodfreyGGolden seems to be the culprit behind this viral trend. Recognize the username? The account uses the namesake of Gleeks Candidate Godfrey G. Golden who ran for U.S. President in 2024, against his doppelgänger Joe Biden.
Anyways, @GodfreyGGolden started replying to other users with the HMS Undaunted painting (for no clear reason) starting in early January. The trend went viral a few days ago when Golden replied to Twitter user @ChiefofIsaac and inspired many others to follow suit.
— Godfrey G. Golden (@GodfreyGGolden) February 20, 2025
Why Exactly Is There A Ship In Twitter Replies?
The explanation is that @GodfreyGGolden decided one day that it'd be funny to reply to people on Twitter with an image of the HMS Undaunted. Once it went viral under @ChiefofIsaac's video of an opossum eating Fruit Loops, others wanted to join the inside joke. That's unfortunately all we have at the moment.
However, over its short lifespan so far, the HMS Undaunted meme has become surprisingly involved. From simple upside-down versions to photoshops of the British vessel hitting the Twin Towers, the possibilities are wide open with this one as the evolution becomes more deranged.
— plonk (@plonk97d) February 20, 2025
For the full history of the HMS Undaunted, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.
