History of “Crazy? I was crazy once” copypasta
The earliest usage of “Crazy, I was crazy once” copypasta in internet was traced back to May 6, 1993 in a usenet group. It was posted by Gary Wolfe as a tagline on May 6, 1993: Link
I was crazy once (1993)
I was crazy once...They put me in a little white room...I loved that room...I died in that room...When they buried me they put little white flowers on my grave that tickled my nose and drove me crazy...CRAZY I tell you...I was crazy once!
A few years after that, the “Crazy? I was crazy once” pasta was then used by a usenet group called alt.support.depression, where it was posted on January 25, 1996, by an anonymous user. The post contained a longer version of the poem that included additional verses beyond the ones that are commonly circulated today. The whole poem in that post was:
Crazy? I was crazy once (1996)
Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a rubber room and told me to sit in the corner. In the corner, there was a round table and on the round table, there was a glass bowl and in the glass bowl, there was a silver key. I took the silver key and they said, 'Now you're sane.' Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a padded cell and told me to make myself comfortable. So I went to sleep on the bed and when I woke up, I was in a straight-jacket. I told them I was sane and they said, 'Now you're crazy.' Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a maze and told me to find my way out. I found the way out in five minutes and they said, 'You're a genius!' Crazy? I was crazy once.
However, the “I was crazy once” copypasta goes way back even before the pre-internet era! Below is excerpt from a book written in 1968, Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Study of American Folklore: An Introduction. pg 118. 1968.
The text above have been verified by viewing full scans at the Archive.org of the 1st edition (4th printing). This recitation is on page 118.
I would like to credit and thank “and e” for digging these up and bringing it to my attention.
I laughed so hard I thought I’d die (1968)
"I laughed so hard I thought I'd die.
I did die.
They buried me, and a flower grew on my grave.
The roots grew down and tickled me.
I laughed so hard I thought I'd die.
I did die…"
Bugs, I hate bugs they drive me crazy…(2015)
Crazy? I was crazy once.
They put me in a rubber room.
A round rubber room
And told me to sit in the corner.
Corner? There was no corner
So I sat in the middle of the floor
Surrounded by rats.
Rat? I can't stand rats.
They tickled my feet.
They made me laugh.
I laughed so hard I thought I would die
Die? I did die in there.
They buried me in a hole.
A hole six feet under the ground
And that's when the worms came.
Worms? I hate worms.
They burrowed into my skull And started to eat my brain.
They drove me crazy!
Crazy? I was crazy once.
They put me in a rubber room.
A round rubber room
And told me to sit in the corner.