France Is Bacon is an image macro and catchphrase that originated on Reddit in late 2010. The catchphrase is often used as an inside joke or an indicator that somebody didn’t understand something.
Origin
In the /r/AskReddit subreddit, a thread was creating asking users to post quotes they misunderstood in their childhood. Redditor Lard_Baron replied stating that he had misunderstood a famous Francis Bacon quote, “Knowledge is power,” claiming that he had misinterpreted Bacon’s name to be part of the quote itself. The post has since received almost 4,000 upvotes, and the thread has received 6,000 comments.
Spread
Several image macros have been created based upon the story, as well as the image featured above having achieved viral status.
T-shirts featuring the catchphrase and image are sold online.