In what month and year did I Can Has Cheezburger? launch?

I Can Has Cheezburger? launched in January 2007.

The site was created by Eric Nakagawa and Kari Unebasami, who built on the popularity of humorous cat images and deliberately misspelled “lolspeak.” Its signature image featured a cat captioned “I can has cheezburger?” and helped make captioned animal photos a mainstream internet format.

The launch is often confused with the later growth of the Cheezburger Network. Investors acquired the blog in September 2007, only months after it began, and Ben Huh later led the expanding network. That rapid commercialization is why some accounts emphasize 2007 without specifying the month.

The site’s early success was substantial: it reportedly received up to 1.5 million daily hits at its peak in May 2007. Its influence extended beyond cat memes, helping popularize image macros, user submissions, voting systems, and the broader idea that internet humor could support a media business.