Memes have become really weird and 2018 is a perfect example of this. I mean, take a look at memes from just a couple years ago and compare them to the ones on this list. There are new memes coming out every single day and most of them will die within a month so there's no way this list could even make a dent in covering all the great memes from 2018. Here are 12 of the most memorable memes from 2018.
1. Tide PODS
Eating Tide Pods and the Tide POD Challenge became extremely popular memes in January 2018. Due to the popularity of the meme and the challenge, many stores started locking up Tide PODS so that people wouldn't steal them. Learn more about the origin and spread of the Tide POD Meme.
2. Ugandan Knuckles
The Ugandan Knuckles meme comes from a parody animation of the character Knuckles from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise. A 3D rendering of the parody became a popular avatar in the multiplayer virtual reality game VRChat. The phrase, "do you know de wey," and references to Uganda come from the film Who Killed Captain Alex? Learn more about the Ugandan Knuckles meme.
3. Change My Mind
The "change my mind" meme comes from a photograph of Steven Crowder sitting behind a sign that reads, "Male Privilege Is A Myth, Change My Mind." After it was uploaded to Crowder's Twitter in February of 2018 it became one the most exploitable meme templates of the year.
4. Savage Patrick
Savage Patrick (also referred to as Evil Patrick) is an image of Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants looking down with an evil facial expression. The image still comes from the Season 1 episode, "Nature Pants." It was first used by Twitter user @bvercetti which you can see below.
5. American Chopper Argument
The "American Chopper Argument" meme comes from a scene in the American reality TV show American Chopper. In the scene, Paul Teutul Sr.gets into an argument with his sonover his tardiness. The episode originally aired in 2009 but this meme really took off when it hit Twitter in March 2018.
Here is the original scene:
6. It's Free Real Estate
The "It's Free Real Estate" meme comes from a sketch in a March 2009 episode of Tim & Eric, "Presidents." The quote became a popular joke online for Tim & Eric fans on Reddit and YouTube. It wasn't until April 2018 when the image was turned into a meme and posted to the fakehistoryporn subreddit.
7. "Who Killed Hannibal"
The "Who Killed Hannibal" meme is taken from a skit in The Eric Andre Show in which Eric Andre shoots Hannibal Buress multiple times before turning back to the camera and asking, "Who killed Hannibal?" Although the skit aired back in 2016, it didn't become a meme until Reddit user lilbrubster posted a 9/11 meme to /r/dankmemes using screenshots from the skit.
Here is the original skit:
8. Is This a Pigeon?
The "Is this a Pigeon?" meme has actually been around for a long time. The original screenshot is from the 1990s Japanese anime The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird. It was first uploaded to Tumblr back in 2011 but had a big resurgence in 2018 when object-labeled variations of the meme were posted to Twitter.
Here is the original clip:
9. BBQ Becky
BBQ Becky became a meme after a viral video of her calling the police on a group of African American people having a cookout at Lake Merritt park in Oakland, Ca. The original video received more than 1 million views in less than two weeks and can be seen below.
Not long after the video went viral, funny tweets and photoshopped pictures of BBQ Becky spread across various social media platforms.
10. Brother, May I Have Some Loops
"Brother, May I Have Some Loops," also known as "Cats Wanting Fruit Loops" is easily my favorite meme of 2018. The meme originated after Imgur user hugmind posted this picture of a cat sitting on its hind legs begging for a bowl of Fruit Loops.
The meme quickly spread after some people added text to the image in a similar fashion to the "Brother, May I Have Some Oats" memes. Photoshops and variations on the meme soon spread as well with notable ones including a Photoshop with Gordon Ramsay and one with Link from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
11. Moth Lamp
Moth Lamp is one of the weirdest memes to come out of 2018. Moth memes became popular after this photo of a giant moth became wildly circulated on Reddit during the summer of 2018.
Memes about moths began to quickly spread on Reddit and Imgur. There was also a surge of moth memes using a similar text to the "Loops Brother" memes.
12. Surprised Pikachu
The Suprised Pikachu meme comes from a screenshot from an episode of Pokémon where Pikachu has its mouth wide open.
It was first posted as "Surprised Pikachu" when Tumblr user popokko posted it back in September 2018.
It soon gained momentum as it was spread to various subreddits including popular meme subreddit /r/MemeEconomy. Pretty soon Surprised Pikachu was all over Twitter and Facebook making it one of the most popular meme formats at the end of 2018.
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