Where Did The Line 'I Would Have Two Nickels' Come From? Dr. Doofenshmirtz's 'It's Weird That It Happened Twice' Joke Explained

In recent weeks, the internet spent a fair bit of time discussing how some well-phrased internet-isms become so ubiquitous that we forget their relatively recent origins. An example of this is the classic Jordan Peterson quote, There are cathedrals everywhere for those with the eyes to see, which originated as a musing about light reflecting through a bottle of water.

Another example of this retroactively assigned framing is the phrase, If I had a nickel for every time (something) happened, I'd have two nickels-- which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right? The popular joke is all over the internet, but some may not know that it actually originates from the children's television show Phineas and Ferb. Here's a look at how the phrase spread online.

Where Does The Line 'I'd Have Two Nickels' Come From?

The phrase "If I had a nickel for every time [X happened], I'd be rich" is used when something happens frequently. An early literary use of this phrase is Mark Twain, who wrote "If I had a dollar for every person killed per year in India [by snake-bite], I would rather have it than any other property" in his 1809 book Following the Equator.

In Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension the comedic antagonist Dr. Doofenshmirtz is double-crossed by his evil clone, who uses his hand puppet to "doom" him. Dr Doofenshmirtz reacts to this by saying, "Wow! If I had a nickel for every time I was "doomed" by a puppet, I'd have two nickels-- which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?" This is part of a running gag in the series, where he reveals surreal anecdotes as a part of his tragic backstory.

How Did The Meme Spread Online?

While the Phineas and Ferb movie was released back in 2011, jokes following the "2 Nickels" phrasal template did not grow popular online until a decade later, in 2020. The line was repurposed into scenes and comics on meme subreddits as well as /r/DnD.

The joke continued to spread online in subsequent years, often being used to comment on unlikely events happening more frequently than anyone would expect.

For the full history of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's "If I had a nickel," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.