Click To View Slideshow» The US presidential election alone provided enough meme fodder for a lifetime.
Fake conversations between President Obama and Joe Biden. Trump's hair blowing in the wind. Kermit drinking tea. You know them and you love them: Internet memes.
Defined by Google as "an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation," memes can take the form of images, videos, text, and so on. The common thing here is that the idea is copied, over and over and over again, "often with slight variations," and spreads quickly across the Web.
Someone shares an image (like a photo of a sad grandpa). The image spreads like wildfire and takes on a life of its own. People use the image to describe their own situation; others try to make a point. Some memes amuse us, others annoy. Most of the time, they touch a nerve.
Like Pizza Rat. You remember the little guy from last year. Standup comedian Matt Little posted a video of the determined New York City subway rat trying to drag a slice of pizza down the stairs, comparing him to Master Splinter from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Almost instantly, a star was born. The Pizza Rat video garnered more than 2 million views within 24 hours, and inspired numerous parodies.
But that was 2015, and most people probably forgot about Pizza Rat by now. This year has given us no shortage of memes. The US presidential election alone provided enough fodder for a lifetime. In these turbulent times, there's nothing like a good meme to lift one's spirit. So here's a list of our favorites this year. Be sure to let us know if we missed any of your faves, because we can all use some more memes in our lives.
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