Memes. Everybody loves them. Nobody can explain them to their parents. Each year blesses us with a fresh crop of photoshops, vines, and Drake-isms, but 2016's memes have risen to a whole new level.
In just six months, we've seen memes defy the laws of reality (see #9), become post-modern meta (#4), and even assume human form (#7). And we're just getting started. So, let's cue up the Curb Your Enthusiasm music, hop on our amphibious unicycles, and count down the best memes of 2016 (so far).
Think we forgot something monumental? Tell us what we missed!
20. Hodor
This may be the fastest-spreading meme on the list, but that's also why it's ranked so low. Spoiler Alert: Game of Thrones ' beloved Hodor died at 10 p.m. on a Sunday. By 10 a.m. Monday, nearly every office elevator in the world had a Hodor sticker, killing the meme faster than your favorite character in Westeros. Still, R.I.P. to my man Willis.
Photo: Twitter.com/@CookieSci
19. Bernie Or Hillary
Under their superficial humor, many memes can be rife with problematic cultural issues — and Bernie or Hillary was no exception. While there were undoubtedly some gems: the candidates' takes on Fight Club, Radiohead, and "The Weed Man," people were quick to point out the reinforcement of lazy gender stereotypes. Don't worry, Bernie, you've got plenty of dank memes left. #BirdieSanders
18. Primitive Sponge a.k.a. Caveman SpongeBob & Often Incorrectly Called SpongeGar
This last-minute addition to the list is so fresh, the internet still hasn't agreed on a name for it. SpongeBob SquarePants has proven to be a deep source of meme-ready content and Primitive Sponge is the latest to describe that feeling when you're home alone and you hear a noise, your mom sends you running for a last minute grocery item...
Photo: Twitter.com/@CaptMavrel
17. The Dab
The Dab's been around for a while, its origins reaching back to the Atlanta hip-hop scene, but it rose to global prominence alongside Cam Newton 's ascendant 15/16 NFL season. And, as all good things must, it peaked a few weeks ago as it took over the stage of the Scripps National freaking Spelling Bee. Can you spell "cadaverous"?
Photo: Know Your Meme
16. Petty Skai Jackson
Pettiness has taken many faces in the meme-verse (see Petty Kobe, Petty Beyoncé), but Disney star Skai Jackson sits atop the throne this year. One of many gifts Black Twitter has given us in 2016, this innocuous photo became the powerhouse meme we never knew we needed. And if you ask Petty Skai, the meme we definitely didn't deserve.
Photo: Twitter.com/@FreddyAmazin
15. Sad Papaw
Papaw's story was a hadouken straight to the feels. Kelsey Harmon's grandpa invites his six grandkids over for dinner. Makes 12 burgers. Only one grandkid shows. The internet's collective heart SHATTERS INTO A BILLION PIECES. But from the trail of devastated reaction memes came a happy ending: Papaw threw a cookout and hundreds showed. Yay, internet. For once.
Photo: Twitter.com/@kelssseyharmon
14. Get You A Man Who Can Do Both
Like many great internet things, this one originated from the Meme Factory, a.k.a. Drake. This incredibly versatile meme, which started with two photos of Champagne Papi, featured the dressed-up/dressed-down iterations of everyone from Jeb Bush to Guy Fieri to even a horse. Get you a meme that can do both.
Photo: Twitter.com/@mal_coholic13. The Sad Men
The first half of 2016 has proved to be a tough year for some powerful men. Ben Affleck's movie bombed. Bill Murray's team lost. And Chris Christie...well...who knows what was happening there. But amongst their pain was a bright spot — we got to put a soundtrack to their sadness and laugh at their privileged misfortune. Hello darkness, my old friend...
12. Ted Cruz
Speaking of laughing at "powerful" "men," few gave us more unintentional humor than the walking skin monster known as Ted Cruz. Between the surprisingly convincing allegations that he was the Zodiac Killer to his many hilarious look-alikes, Cruz almost made his spine-chilling existence worthwhile by becoming a meme machine. Almost.
11. Metro Boomin's Trust Issues
When Drake and Kanye combine their powers, you know it's internet gold. Their use of producer Metro Boomin's tag "If young Metro don't trust you I'm gon' shoot you..." on both "Jumpman" and "Father Stretch My Hands" skyrocketed it into top meme status. Suddenly, we were all questioning our place on young Metro's trust list and expressing our uncertainty the only way we knew how: through memes.
Photo: Know Your Meme
10. #TrapCovers
Ringing in the top 10 is a brilliant takedown of cultural appropriation, namely all those white people who were turning Rihanna's "Work" and Beyoncé's "Formation" into corny acoustic/piano covers. #TrapCovers flipped that on its head, taking hits from Adele, Taylor Swift, Vanessa Carlton, and The Beatles and giving them a Southern rap twist. The best part? Some were actual improvements.
Photo: Twitter.com/@monstta
9. Jordan Cry Face
Technically, Jordan Cry Face — in which Michael Jordan's crying face is 'shopped onto anyone who's struggling — is several years old. But defying every law of virality, it's getting stronger over time. It's now a staple of any major sporting event, and really, anything with the comedy-tragedy balance. Is Jordan Cry Face the greatest meme, ever? (Places Jordan Cry Face on all other memes). Might be.
Photo: Complex.com
8. Bread Or Baby Arm?
It wouldn't be a meme year without something weird from Japan. Or, apparently, bread. (See Cat Breading, Bread Facing). This brilliant "how did we not see this earlier" photo meme of placing chubby, fat-rolled baby arms next to rolls of bread is the most ermahgerd meme of the year and will be tough to beat.
Photo: Twitter.com/@sn15papa
7. DJ Khaled
2016 has also been the year memes took human form. That form was the hairy-chested, motivation-spewing, plant-overwatering DEE. JAY. KHALED!!! The undisputed King of Snapchat, nearly everything this man says immediately enters the meme lexicon. And despite his questionable jet-ski decisions, Khaled is savvy enough to cash in on it all. Major key.
Photo: Know Your Meme
6. Mr. Krabs Blur
The year's best reaction meme (so far) is another entry from the world of SpongeBob. This trippy image of Mr. Krabs freaking out as the world swirls around him perfectly describes countless scenarios, from being woken up from a nap to someone swiping through your phone's photos. Too real.
Photo: Twitter.com/@isthatahmed5. Run Away With Meme
One of the best memes of the year came out of absolutely nowhere. Carly Rae Jepsen's "Run Away With Me" was well past its relevancy when suddenly, its soaring sax solo begot one of the more inventive memes we've ever seen. Listen to one (or probably 12) and you'll agree, the unexpected is precisely what makes it so damn good.
4. #MemeHistory
Centuries from now, we might look back at #MemeHistory as a turning point. The moment the memes broke the space-time continuum and maybe even became self-aware. #MemeHistory applied modern reaction memes to biblical and historical lore — from Abraham and Isaac to Rosa Parks — and probably signaled the first step in the memes becoming all-powerful and destroying us all.
Photo: Twitter.com/@soykawai
3. Drake Sitting on Things
Let's face it: Drake is the Meme Master and the GIF that keeps on GIFing. And 2016 has continued to let us have our Drake and meme him, too. Look at that Views album cover. Look at it. There's No. Freaking. Way. he didn't know he was setting himself up as one of the best memes of the year. It's Drake's world wide web, we're just living in it.
Twitter.com/@bobby2. Damn, Daniel
Technically, Damn, Daniel is a viral video, which is a whole other list — sorry, Water Bottle Flip guy and Chewbacca Mom. So, how did those white Vans climb to the #2 spot? Because how many times have you said "Damn, Daniel" this year? 20? 50? 1,000? Thought so. Daniel transcended the rules and almost took Top Meme of 2016 (so far). Who's #1? Here comes...
1. Dat Boi
O shit waddup? Listen, I know you don't really "get" Dat Boi. To be honest, neither do I. But stay with me, maybe the magic of Dat Boi is exactly that — nobody gets him. Yet everyone agrees that, for some reason, a reason we may never understand, Dat Boi is funny. And in a complicated world, maybe that's all we need from a meme in 2016. Then again, we've got six months to go.
Photo: Know Your MemeLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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