Another December is here which means 2019 is coming to a close, and with it a recap of the biggest moments that happened throughout the year. As we look back on the past 12 months there’s a lot to consider as the pinnacles of the year in both entertainment and fan movements, and with that comes the biggest memes of the year.
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Tumblr has compiled the top thirty memes for the year which range from classics like the Alignment Chart and Doge to new contenders like Spidersona and the meme that ended up being the most popular meme of the year on the social networking site. You can find the full list of the top thirty memes here and we’ve recapped the top ten with a quick explainer for each below!
Which of these memes from the past year was your favorite and which one were you surprised didn’t make the cut? Sound off in the comments below!
#10 Spidersona
A portmanteau of Spider and Persona. Following the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and its message that anyone could be Spider-Man, fans took to the Internet to reveal what THEY would look like if they were Spider-Man, and the Spidersona was born.
Fans of the feature film and this viral hashtag have taken the idea to a variety of places, expanding not only one what they might look like as a Spider-verse character, but what other fictional characters would look like ranging from the likes of Kermit the Frog to Peter Pan.
#9 Cursed Image
One of the top-tier memes of the decade began its life on Tumblr and naturally was one of the most posted meme hashtags on the site. The cursed image usually boils down to photos of increasingly poor quality that have lived a long life online, or ones that are simply too bizarre to even explain
Many of them are related to food as well, be it the unlikely presentation of food or the presence of food in places where it should not be.
#8 Taylurking
As pointed out by Vulture, “Taylurking is a play on lurking, which means to spy on people online without them realizing; in Taylor’s case, it meant she was pulling photos of fans posing with her new album at Target and then posting them to Twitter.”
The Taylurking hashtag continues as fans eagerly await the return of Taylor Swift to their online communities along with the release of new music from the artist.
#7 Caturday
One of the earliest memes from the 2000s that still persists online today, Caturday refers simply to the practice of posting funny, cute, and weird photos and videos of Cats on Saturdays throughout the year.
#6 Fake History
The Fake History tag has a variety of interpretations on the site which likely lead to its inclusion in the Topย 10 of memes of the year. Originally the meme began with screenshots from cartoons like SpongeBob SquarePants and The Simpsons, dramatized to be photos from iconic historical moments. It then spread to other animated shows and movies which were stripped of their original context, as well as original photos taken by users that were then branded with historical captions.
#5 CountryHumans
Unlike many other memes on the list, this one hasn’t really broken through into larger public realms like Facebook and Twitter, which makes the CountryHumans appearing at #5 so surprising. The meme is pretty self-explanatory as it features humanoid versions of countries around the world whose faces appear as the flag for the nations and whose outfit and actions are the product of some stereotypes. It has drawn criticism though as some took the meme to extreme levels, romanticizing horrific moments in certain country’s histories.
#4 Shit My Players Say
Like the previously beloved “Shit my Dad says” Twitter account, this meme is born from the relationship between Dungeon Masters and the players at their tables as they participate in table-top role playing games. They typically involve the players doing things they shouldn’t be doing (and doing them successfull) or being surprised by things they didn’t expect to happen.
#3 Moodboard
Simply put, a Moodboard is a collection of images related to a certain fandom, feeling, or idea that are used to evoke the emotions associated with that thing. They can range from holidays to Marvel or even just the specific aesthetic of the user that creates them.
#2 Inktober
This annual challenge arrives during the month of October and sees artists creating all-ink pieces every day for the entire month. Artists will often pick a theme for their Inktober series and stick to it for all 31 days/drawings ranging from Pokรฉmon to Mass Effect and countless others.
#1 Area 51
What began as a simple gag on Facebook in the wee hours of the morning spilled out into the real world in a big with with the “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” event. The meme first began online in June and took on a life of its own through the months ahead before culminating in “The Day” itself, September 20. The event itself noted “If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Let’s see them aliens,” which is exactly what at least one person did near the government base on the day in question. He did not get to see any aliens though.
