Without memes, what would we truly have to keep us occupied? One of the best joys, while watching viral shows or scrolling Twitter during moments that everyone is talking about, is the inevitable jokes that will come out of us all noticing how insane an image or phrase is. While everyone ends up trying to get their tweets off, making for some issues of quality control with the humor, there’s no denying that a night on Twitter can be altogether amazing if there’s a particularly dank meme circulating.
This year, we’ve seen all kinds of subjects turn into memes. Cartoons, royal family members, Marvel’s biggest films, and even LeBron James have been meme’d out. The medium has made stars like a certain yodeling boy, and has even helped some deal with racist white people who like to call the police when they see black people doing, well, anything.
Memes are the gift that keeps on giving; here are the best of 2018.
19. Walmart Yodel Boy
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To paraphrase 2007 viral sensation Chris Crocker, “Leave Yodel Boy alone!” Yodel Boy, whose actual name is Mason Ramsey, is perhaps the only truly wholesome meme on this list, and for that, I will always love him. The meme came full circle when Ramsey was afforded the opportunity to perform at Coachella in April. There certainly remains a larger conversation to be had about who gets to profit from meme-dom and who does not, but for now, at least, Yodel Boy has remained pure. —Carolyn Bernucca
18. thank u, next
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For a number of reasons, Ariana Grande was one of the most talked-about people of 2018. In early November, she dropped a post-Sweetener single, “thank u, next,” and to the surprise of no one, it turned into a hilarious meme. Many used the “one taught me” sequence to send up everything from the Shrek films to the different faces of Sonic the Hedgehog. —khal
8. Epic Handshake
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While this scene from 1987’s The Predator has been getting the meme treatment for over a decade, the world’s most epic handshake blew up once again when it was turned into a cartoon, and ultimately showed off how people with differing opinions can band together over certain topics. —khal
5. BBQ Becky
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Homegirl brought this on herself. She swore up and down that she was doing her civic duty by calling the cops on a BBQ at the park, but didn’t expect someone to put her on camera and follow her around until she was sobbing next to a police officer. Multiple moments of this epic video have been turned into memes, for good reason. —khal
Who did this. pic.twitter.com/pD9FMDtRqE
— zellie (@zellieimani) May 13, 2018
