Powerful, rugged, virile, invincible.

These adjectives don’t even come close to describing the manliest beefcake to ever karate kick his way into our hearts, Mr. Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris. Today, we celebrate Chuck Norris “facts” — a series of satirical and exaggerated claims designed to bust our guts and blow our minds about our favorite bearded action star.

Everyone knows at least one Chuck Norris fact, but did you know that the Chuck Norris Facts meme didn’t even start with Chuck Norris? It started with, believe it or not, Vin Diesel. In 2005, Diesel was the action star of the moment. However, on the Internet forum SomethingAwful, commenters vigorously debated whether he was worthy of the praise. According to The Daily Dot, “the forum members began attributing strange ‘facts’ to Diesel, funny but impossible feats of strength, intelligence, and prowess.”

On March 20, 2005, a Vin Diesel random fact generator was created, but Diesel just wasn’t a powerful enough figure in our culture’s imagination to merit the honor. It was a disaster, and only one person could save the day: Chuck Motherflippin’ Norris. When Diesel was replaced with Mr. Delta Force himself, the meme went berserk. Thirteen years later, it is legendary.

Let’s celebrate with some of our favorite Chuck Norris facts!