No Gritty, so this list is invalid
December 15, 2019 5:57 PM   Subscribe

Writing for Buzzfeed News, Katie Notopoulos, Julia Reinstein, and Ryan Broderick have identified the top 100 memes of the 2010s and put together 14,000 words elaborating on them. The list within, for easy complaining about.
NB: SOME MEMES ARE MORE META-CATEGORIES, WHICH IS ITSELF DISPUTABLE

  1. Yodeling Walmart Kid

  2. Moth Memes

  3. VSCO Girls

  4. Duck Army

  5. Deep-Fried Memes

  6. Twitter Sign Bunny

  7. Doggos and Puppers

  8. Planking

  9. Bros Icing Bros

  10. Bone App The Teeth

  11. Clowns

  12. Kim Kardashian Breaks the Internet

  13. Bed Intruder

  14. Alex From Target

  15. Insane Clown Posse’s “Miracles”

  16. First-World Problems

  17. Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge

  18. Sad Keanu

  19. “Haven’t Heard That Name in Years”

  20. Ice Bucket Challenge

  21. “I’m in Me Mum’s Car, Broom Broom”

  22. The Rent Is Too Damn High

  23. Ylvis’s “What Does the Fox Say?”

  24. Hot Dogs or Legs

  25. Darude’s “Sandstorm”

  26. *Record Scratch*

  27. Double Rainbow

  28. Mannequin Challenge

  29. “Harlem Shake”

  30. Bottle Flipping

  31. Bronies

  32. (nice)
  33. Bee Movie

  34. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  35. Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”

  36. Dashcon

  37. Galaxy Brain

  38. Loss.JPG

  39. Baby Shark

  40. Infinity War

  41. Binders Full of Women

  42. PSY’s “Gangnam Style”

  43. Forever Alone

  44. Wholesome Memes

  45. Theres Always a @dril Tweet

  46. Game of Thrones

  47. You Know I Had to Do It to Em

  48. Salt Bae

  49. Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams

  50. Cringe

  51. Obama and Biden

  52. Drake / “Hotline Bling”

  53. Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life”

  54. Ryan Gosling

  55. ASMR

  56. Cropped Gay Porn

  57. Cash Me Ousside

  58. Spider-Man Pointing at Spider-Man

  59. Nickelback

  60. Rebecca Black

  61. “Come to Brazil”

  62. Gender Reveals

  63. *tips fedora*

  64. This Is the Future Liberals Want

  65. Ted Cruz, the Zodiac Killer

  66. Confused Math Lady

  67. “Old Town Road”

  68. American Chopper

  69. Brands Acting Like People

  70. Arthur’s Fist

  71. Florida Man

  72. What Are Those?

  73. Kanye West

  74. Dat Boi

  75. Harambe

  76. Damn Daniel

  77. Tiffany Pollard

  78. Tide Pods

  79. Blinking White Guy

  80. Minions

  81. Milkshake Duck

  82. Gavin

  83. Shrek

  84. “Do It for the Vine”

  85. Real Housewives

  86. The Joker

  87. Why You Lyin’

  88. Being Horny

  89. Distracted Boyfriend

  90. Doge

  91. Kermit

  92. Reaction GIFs

  93. Guy Fieri

  94. The Dress

  95. “This Is Fine” Dog

  96. Smash Mouth’s “All Star”

  97. On Fleek

  98. Pepe the Frog

  99. Crying Jordan

  100. SpongeBob
posted by Going To Maine (43 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
Uh, Dashcon was 2014? That fits into my general theory that 2014 was the start of the 21st century internet.
posted by The Whelk at 6:30 PM on December 15, 2019 [5 favorites]


Thank you for, with the post header, allowing me to know that this list is 100% trash which can be ignored. Just like they ignored my beloved non-binary orange anarchist child, Gritty.

(for real though, wow. it's been a long decade.)
posted by kalimac at 6:45 PM on December 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


As Lenin tells us, there are years when nothing happens, and decades when memes happen.
posted by The Whelk at 6:47 PM on December 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


Honestly, my main objection to this list is that pepe should be number one. Not for good reasons, obviously, but it still seems like the truth.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:47 PM on December 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


Certainly it should beat Crying Jordan, but I say that as someone who learned about CJ long after it had broken big.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:49 PM on December 15, 2019


It has the screaming ducks, which is pretty much all I need to see to start giggling for five to ten minutes. The reversed version, where screaming ducks are instantly soothes by a gentle touch, is just as wonderful.

Sort of sad that Screaming Trains never quite reached meme level fame, though.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:57 PM on December 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


That was exhausting.
posted by betweenthebars at 6:58 PM on December 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


Ok I always remembered number 87 as Bedroom Invader. Not Bed Intruder.

Also I was pretty sure that Antoine Doddson performed Bedroom Invader live at the BET awards that year or the next. But this was not mentioned in the writeup... combined with the name change... I suspect I may have shifted timelines again.
posted by some loser at 7:04 PM on December 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


That was exhausting.

Yeah, and for the next cycle we’re ten years older
posted by The Whelk at 7:14 PM on December 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


#34. I didn't get the song, but this story made me cry tears of joy
posted by Gorgik at 7:37 PM on December 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


excuse me where is free real estate
posted by poffin boffin at 7:43 PM on December 15, 2019 [5 favorites]


Someone in my apartment building still, on the cusp of 2020, has their wireless network name broadcasting as "Hide Yo Kids Hide Yo Wifi".
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:10 PM on December 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


I love Confused Math Lady because I always think it’s Confused Math Amy Sedaris.
posted by sallybrown at 8:11 PM on December 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


#3 is a white supremacist symbol and belongs on the worst of the decade, and even for the reasons they state, so nah. Bad list.

As for best meme? Obviously, there's some subjectivity involved, but I think tumblr's mens-rights-activia made a very compelling case for "You know I had to do it to 'em".
This meme is an internet staple that managed to be versatile, unproblematic, inclusive, and best of all one of the greatest examples of a shitpost. The humour was not in the grandeur, not in the references, not in the junxapositioning of labled words, nor in the relatability of it all. The humour is in the simplicity, the artistic composition of the original image, the three course meal of fashion that was served by the subject, and of course, the iconic pose that changed the way we see one’s hands clasped together with one’s feet shoulder-width apart.

This meme is a reflection of the average: middle class life in the ‘burbs; taking pictures at everyday landmarks such as the uneven sidewalk by your house or the tree you almost crashed into when you just got your learners permit; wearing your favourite matching top and bottom in a picture to show off the 18k gold plated wristwatch and loafers your nana got you for your birthday; the grandest joys in the most average of things.

In a way, I think deep down, we all know that Luciano did not actually have to do it to em, but we, as a society, are better off because he did
.
posted by kafziel at 8:41 PM on December 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


nope. my mums car, broom broom wins hands down.
posted by valkane at 9:18 PM on December 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


i am waiting for the Cats memes, though. that shit feels rife.
posted by valkane at 9:23 PM on December 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


Hadn’t seen it before, and it was so delightfully wholesome.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:23 PM on December 15, 2019


my mums car, broom broom

I will swear unto my dying day that she's saying "vroom vroom" not "broom broom".
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:24 PM on December 15, 2019


OH DEAR LORD I WAS NOT AT ALL PREPARED FOR THICC THANOS
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:29 PM on December 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


The ones I'm familiar with - Ok, I guess they were stupid, but fun (?)...

The unfamiliar ones: fuck them, too stupid to bother
posted by growabrain at 12:25 AM on December 16, 2019


Oh man, I can't even fake familiarity with half of these. But this is good timing, I was thinking of making an Ask, but I'll ride the momentum of this thread. Katie and Ryan's Internet Explorer podcast was one of the best podcasts dealing with deep internet culture. Ryan's Garbage Day newsletter keeps some of that alive, but I want a podcast like Internet Explorer.

Reply All
sort of tickles aspects of this with Yes, Yes, No, but overall is too broad. It's a great podcast, but so all over the place that it's too much of a grab bag.

I've tried listening to Sh!tPost but I find it boring, smug and drawn out. It's a useful tool for keeping up with the worst of the internet, but not really enjoyable. I subscribe to it, but usually end up deleting every episode about 15 minutes in. Jared Holt's Right Wing Watch is a fine resource, but he just doesn't work for me as a host.

QAnonAnonymous is sometimes very good, but is specifically about conspiracy theories. The hosts have good chemistry and make it fun and I've enjoyed how they go deep into different beliefs. It doesn't cover Twitter trends/memes as much as I'd like.

What podcasts do people listen to in order to keep on top of memes, and internet happenings? I like to keep up with spreading conspiracy theories, twitter debates, reddit threads and all that sort of stuff.
posted by Telf at 2:54 AM on December 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


This list reads like someone who finds out about memes on good morning america.
here's some other memes:
snake is dummy thicc
baby yoda
little a salami
brother may i have some loops
*slaps roof*
honk
nyan cat
hide the pain harold
back on my bullshit
bob ross
epstein didn't kill himself
yelling woman/white cat
actual cannibal shia labeouf
pronouncing things incorrectly
yard sard/sbubby/applebapples
had us in the first half

i could go on
posted by FirstMateKate at 7:27 AM on December 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


Staying on top of memes is a trap and impossible. At least for now, the next decade belongs to YouTube and TikTok, so if you can find a podcast out there devoted to those you'd be in good shape. Decoder Ring is good for general trends and went deep on both Baby Shark and gender reveals. And the truest solution is surely to find a talkative teenager willing to narc out their generation's habits and hangouts. (Does Taylor Lorenz have a newsletter? Jia Tolentino?)
posted by Going To Maine at 7:28 AM on December 16, 2019


In what goddamn world is Crying Jordan a top-3 contender while "This is Fine" dog slips out of the top 5 and doge misses the top 10? You'v given us a lot of bullshit, 2010's, but I for one am not going to put up with this kind of abuse from goddamn BuzzFeed.
posted by Mayor West at 7:32 AM on December 16, 2019 [7 favorites]


This list reads like someone who finds out about memes on good morning america

baby yoda, Epstein didn't kill himself, and yelling woman / white cat are far too recent to really make this list, I think. But Bob Ross and Wurds are surprising omissions.
posted by Going To Maine at 7:40 AM on December 16, 2019


Drunk woman: “WHY AM I NOT ON THIS LIST”
White cat: “YOU ARE, AT NUMBER 16 BUT THEY CALL IT ‘REAL HOUSEWIVES’”
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:57 AM on December 16, 2019 [8 favorites]


If yesterday someone walked up to me and said "I'll give you one thousand dollars to correctly name from memory what decade fucking magnets how do they work is from" I would have first considered the 1990s before settling on the aughts as the safe choice.

When it comes to Spongebob memes, I feel like everyone always forgets the one that might be the most ubiquitous: the "One Eternity Later" interstitials.
posted by lampoil at 8:13 AM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm surprised to find out @dril is sill kind of anonymous. All these years I thought he was just one of the FYAD regulars, which I guess was true, but in the back of my mind I always thought it as jon hendren.
posted by GoblinHoney at 9:25 AM on December 16, 2019


The world first learned of bronies when in 2011 Wired wrote about the adult men who loved the rebooted My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic show.

That was 2011???!!!???!

Christ, I'm old.
posted by hanov3r at 9:39 AM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


Drunk woman: “WHY AM I NOT ON THIS LIST”
White cat: “YOU ARE, AT NUMBER 16 BUT THEY CALL IT ‘REAL HOUSEWIVES’”


For some weird reason, I love all of the white cat ones. Haven't even seen a 'meh' one yet.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:10 AM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


At least for now, the next decade belongs to YouTube and TikTok, so if you can find a podcast out there devoted to those you'd be in good shape.

I too would subscribe to this podcast, when it exists. I just found out about this Adele one (which is maybe a year old and therefore ancient on TikTok) and it made me so happy. But too late, too late.

Agree that without Gritty, this list is garbage.
posted by Mchelly at 10:23 AM on December 16, 2019


Consider my "complaining about" made, now that I have lost half an hour of my life AGAIN. I swear the whole decade was low-resolution mush. Some of it was funny at the time, and oddly enough "Gangnam Style" is still funny to me.
posted by Peach at 11:05 AM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


I miss Vines. Some of them were absolutely brilliant little bits of art.
posted by jquinby at 11:07 AM on December 16, 2019 [4 favorites]


jquinby, my girlfriend and I have spent literally days worth of hours watching Vine compilations on YouTube. I have seen some of them hundreds of times and still laugh every single time (canonical example). There is something very pure about the humor in a six-second clip.
posted by hanov3r at 11:47 AM on December 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


Katie and Ryan's Internet Explorer podcast was one of the best podcasts dealing with deep internet culture

Agreed. Cancelling it was a crime!

What podcasts do people listen to in order to keep on top of memes, and internet happenings?

This isn't their raison d'être, but "dirtbag left" podcasts like Chapo Trap House and Red Scare do cover this kind of stuff when it bleeds into the political realm.
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 12:21 PM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


What podcasts do people listen to in order to keep on top of memes, and internet happenings? I like to keep up with spreading conspiracy theories, twitter debates, reddit threads and all that sort of stuff.

The Yes/Yes/No segments of Reply All scratch this itch for me, though they're mostly for explaining/deconstructing tweets that have recently gone viral. They do a large amount of other internet-related stuff, too: high weirdness, spooky-tech-gone-wrong, and so on.
posted by jquinby at 12:31 PM on December 16, 2019


If yesterday someone walked up to me and said "I'll give you one thousand dollars to correctly name from memory what decade fucking magnets how do they work is from" I would have first considered the 1990s before settling on the aughts as the safe choice.

thats how i feel about nyan cat, which was one of the original memes that went viral.

I forgot one of my favorites: cat no banana
posted by FirstMateKate at 1:09 PM on December 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


I'm glad galaxy brain made the list because it easily conveys a large part of my humor (eg, normal/regular/unremarkable things stated in increasingly obscure ways) while also being accessible.

...Seems odd that loss ranks behind salt bae? loss has proven to be much stickier. Maybe it's more niche.
posted by snerson at 2:35 PM on December 16, 2019


I don't follow memes very closely but they inevitably appear, so a list like this with commentary is useful for having the general backstory/follow-up filled in.

A few years ago I idly asked about what's the deal with Target lad's sudden fame, and was filled in with: "yore dum, it's just a Meme!"... Which isn't quite accurate, because Target lad's fame was somewhat promoted & orchestrated (and he went on to get burned by his manager).

The only meme that I had actually already knew the back story of is the sad-smile of 'Hide the Pain Harold', because I'd read a short Guardian article about him (he actually got some paid gigs as a result of his internet fame, and said in the interview that he isn't really that sad, which is nice;)

Ironically, his meme is on the list of omissions mentioned above by FirstMateKate.
posted by ovvl at 2:40 PM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


<goes in garage>
<pulls out lawnmower>
<looks at list of memes>
<shakes head>
<decides to mow the backyard first>
posted by Reverend John at 7:05 PM on December 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


That was far more fun and relevant feeling (to me at least) than that New Yorker thing.

My god, the internet has become such a generally mean place.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:36 PM on December 16, 2019


Really sticky memes are those that can be endlessly applied to new memes, they’re more like platforms or formats then individual jokes
posted by The Whelk at 7:38 PM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


Oh hey, just realized this list doesn't have "CLAIMS TO BE PRO LIFE, DIES ANYWAY" on it. And that's a crime.

Dunking on the beast is to be celebrated.
posted by kafziel at 4:44 PM on December 25, 2019


« Older "We are here because we cooperated."   |   Invisible Logistics: How home delivery is... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments