In the Success Kid meme, what is the baby doing with his hand?

In the Success Kid meme, the baby is clenching a fist of sand.

The image shows Sammy Griner, photographed as an infant by his mother, Laney Griner, on a beach in Florida in 2007. His clenched fist and determined facial expression made the picture look like a tiny gesture of triumph, even though he was simply holding sand.

Laney Griner uploaded the photograph to Flickr, where it spread online. The image later became widely known as Success Kid and was used in captions about small victories, fortunate timing, or overcoming an obstacle. Its appeal came from the contrast between the baby’s serious expression and the exaggerated adult-style captions added by users.

The hand is not holding a trophy, food, or another object. The sand is easy to miss because the original photograph is small and the fist is tightly closed. The meme is also sometimes called “I Hate Sandcastles,” reflecting an alternate caption style, but the canonical image remains the baby with sand in his fist.