It was in 1976 when the word 'meme' originated for the first time in a book authored by Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Game. By 2019, it became an integral part of our life and social media. Giving us our daily dose of entertainment, the world of memes doesn't spare anyone. Here are some of the memes that entertained us throughout 2019.
Woman yelling at cat
A combination of two pictures mashed up to bring out a hilarious meme. While one half featured a confused looking white cat with a plate full of salad kept in front of her, the other featured a weeping blonde woman.
The lady is Taylor Armstrong who was clicked from a 2011 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The white cat, named Smudge, came from a Tumblr account. Though, both the pictures were clicked in the past at different times, it was in May when they were clubbed together to form hilarious memes.
30-35 Feral dogs
In August, this year musician Jason Isbell while tweeting against people owing assault rifles, wrote, "If you're on here arguing the definition of "assault weapon" today you are part of the problem. You know what an assault weapon is, and you know you don't need one."William McNabb, a twitter user, responded saying: "Legit question for rural Americans. How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?" The answer soon became a butt of memes, with people using the tweet as part of funny messages.
Lady Gaga's performance at the 2019 Grammys
A meme favourite, Lady Gaga ensured that moments from her performance doesn't leave her fans disappointed. Dressed in an embellished silver jumpsuit, the singer rocked it with her song Shallow during the event. However, the meme-worthy moment came towards the end of her performance following her heavy eye contact with the camera.
Baby Yoda drinking soup
Baby Yoda is perhaps the most adored character. The meme of Baby Yoda drinking soup went viral after the premiere of The Mandalorian "Chapter 4: Sanctuary" premiered on Disney + in November. At the end of their fight at a campsite, The Mandalorian and Cara Dune looked to their side only to find Baby Yoda, casually drinking soup.
Gonna tell my kids
One of the most popular memes set for a futuristic world, Gonna Tell My Kids, had social media users imagining new image for a celebrity. It became a rage in November. A Twitter user had uploaded the earliest version of the meme in September. Referring to Justin Trudeau's Brown face controversy, it read "I gonna tell my kids in 2055 that this was Justin Trudeau" showing a brown-faced cartoon.
Nancy Pelosi Clapping
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi became a meme after she was pictured sarcastically clapping away at US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in February. Even though Pelosi maintained that she wasn't sarcastic while applauding the US President, the memes went viral.
Storm Area 51
In September, when Matty Roberts challenged that he was going to storm Nevada's highly secretive Area 51, largely believed to be sanctuary of captured aliens, internet went abuzz. Even though the claim, for which he had also created a Facebook event with millions signing for it, by Roberts was just a joke, the netizens took no time in converting it into a viral meme.
Ah sh*t, here we go again
The statement originated from the 2004 edition of Grand Theft Auto-San Andreas video game. The meme is believed to have been originated in April, this year. In the game, the line is said by the main protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson after he finds himself in a hostile neighbourhood.
Wrong answers only
The meme made a comeback in 2019 after its origin two years ago. 'Wrong answers only' refers to a social media game in which the users post a picture of a famous object and expects the followers to incorrectly identify the picture. The answers are generally expected to be hilarious and in total contrast to the correct answers.
Celebrities as things
Even though this particular meme, trended for a few weeks only, it was enough to compare, for the social media users to draw hilarious comparisons between their favourite celebrities and everyday things. Some of the famous ones were Ben Affleck as Dunkin drinks, Beyoncé's colour-blocked outfits with sea sponges, Mariah Carey as whisks, and Cole Sprouse as bottles of booze.
Trump's 'Hamberder' moment
US President Donald Trump became the victim of memes world right at the beginning of the year. In January, POTUS invited the Alabama Clemson Tigers team for a celebratory dinner at the White House to celebrate their College Football Playoff National Championship.
The morning after the 'grand celebratory dinner,' Trump tweeted, "Great being with the National Champion Clemson Tigers last night at the White House. Because of the Shutdown I served them massive amounts of Fast Food (I paid), over 1000 hamberders etc. Within one hour, it was all gone. Great guys and big eaters!"
Even as the tweet was deleted soon after, the 'hamberders' had done their share of damage. The 300 massive hamburgers ordered by the White House, turned into millions of 'hamberders' memes.
Daenerys Targaryen fake smile
The year might not have been so good for the 'Game of Thrones' fan, as it finally ended after eight seasons, but it definitely left with some meme-worthy moments. The most viral amongst them was Daenerys Targaryen fake smile. The meme related to Daenarys fake smile given to Sansa in the second episode of the season, was relatable to everyone who has ever been forced to smile.
Prince Archie of Riverdale
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle named their first-born, Archie, and social media couldn't handle more. Even though the baby was named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, netizens could stop themselves from making memes related to Archie and his imaginary connection with Riverdale.
Meltdown memes
Occasionally, we all have meltdowns. But, converting the same into a hilarious one is not everyone's cup of tea. But then what can we say? Meme generators are the best. This meme includes the picture of an utterly confused Ms Juicy from Little Women: Atlanta. The picture was clubbed with a viral video of Twitter user @quenblackwell, and transformed into a reaction meme.
Greta Thunberg's 'death stare' at Donald Trump
The famous meme that became viral in September is back following the latest Twitter rant of the US President about climate activist Greta Thunberg. The meme first came into existence after Thunberg was caught on camera staring intently at the US President Donald Trump while he was giving a speech on climate change. The 'look' soon took the name of 'Death stare' and went viral for all the right reasons.
Trump's letter to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The formal letter written by the US President to its Turkish counterpart went viral on social media. While suggesting to the Turkish president to reconsider his stand on attacking Northern Syria, Trump wrote, "Let's work out a good deal! You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy – and I will." The President also asked Erdogan not be "a tough guy or a fool". It soon resulted in memes.
Melania Trump and Justin Trudeau
The photograph of the First Lady of US, Melania Trump, reaching out for a kiss from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the G7 summit in France turned out to be the most iconic pictures of 2019. Netizens were quick to tweet the pictures with amazing one-liner.
