Best Memes of All Time
Ah, memes. As social media continues to grow and thrive as it's embraced by more and more people who spend more and more time online, so too do the memes that spread across those platforms. They tend to multiply around holidays, like these Dad Joke memes, too.
It's extremely difficult (and maybe even impossible) to try putting all the best memes into a list of top 10 memes of all time, especially given the fact there are so many great ones that have graced our screens over the years. And depending on which social networks you prefer to use, along with what you friends tends to share, you may agree or disagree with what's about to follow in the list below.
Whatever you think deserves a spot in a list of top 10 memes, the ones you'll see on this list are among the most memorable on the grandest scale. If you spend any time on social media, you've probably seen photos, videos, or references to most of these at least once before. If you have a meme you want to create, do it! Maybe yours will end up on this list.
LOLcats (2006)
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You don't have to be a heavy Internet user to know that cats are a big deal online. LOLcats refer to the various images of cats that get posted online along with funny captions in large, white text. Known as "lolspeak," the captions almost always feature bad spelling and grammar for added humor.
IcanHasCheezburger was a blog that took inspiration from the LOLcat meme and brought it to a whole new level of popularity. At its peak in 2007, the site was receiving as many as 1.5 million hits every day.
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US (1998)
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If this one leaves you scratching your head, then you're likely not alone. All Your Base Are Belong to Us is a catchphrase that comes from the 1989 video game Zero Wing, so if any meme on this list doesn't quite seem so familiar, it's probably this ancient one!
According to Know Your Meme, it started blowing up across internet discussion forums in as early as 1998 and into the early 2000s. The Internet was a very different place back then, and social media as we know it today was virtually non-existent. Despite its early origin, you can still hear the catchphrase used on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and other places online even today.
Rickroll (2007)
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You've heard it played on the radio a million times throughout the 80s, the 90s, and even the 2000s. Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up was a 1987 musical masterpiece that was revived in 2007.
People started tricking people into clicking on links that gave them the expectation they'd take to a web page with something useful or entertaining – but instead, it would send them to a clip of Rick singing his classic hit. When someone fell for it, it was common to say that they had been Rickrolled.
Double Rainbow (2010)
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Back in 2010, people couldn't get enough of this YouTube video that featured a guy filming two rainbows in the sky and promptly freaking out (as noted by his hysterical voice in the background). The video uploaded by YouTube user Hungrybear9562 (whose real name is Paul Vasquez) became a viral hit after remaining unnoticed for months on YouTube, right before Jimmy Kimmel featured it on his show..
Rebecca Black's 'Friday' Music Video (2011)
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There was a time back in 2011 when Rebecca Black's name remained a worldwide trending Twitter topic for days on end (and possibly even longer than a week). She went insanely viral for her cringeworthy song Friday and accompanying music video that was discovered on YouTube a few months after it was uploaded.
The teen pop music video was heavily criticized and even hated for featuring an awful lot of autotune, bland lyrics, and laughable cinematography. You could say it went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Grumpy Cat (2012)
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"Tardar Sauce" the Grumpy Cat is arguably the most famous Internet cat of all time. She got her claim to fame after a photo of her distinct frowning face was uploaded to Reddit, setting off a wave of inspiration for new meme photos with hilarious captions that perfectly encapsulated dissatisfaction, annoyance, and other overly exaggerated negative feelings.
She has since been raking in the big bucks from her line of merchandise, as well as from the 2014 holiday feature film she starred in.