What the Hell Just Happened Last Month? (In Memes)

By now you’re probably familiar with our monthly meme recaps. We’ve decided to switch things up a little bit while still recounting the funniest (or strangest) things that happened in the world, as told by the Internet. Allow us to introduce What the Hell Just Happened Last Month? (In Memes).

Memes are often written off as another silly symptom of the Internet’s randomness, but as far as we're concerned, memes are very important tools for recording and reporting news in somewhat real-time. Yes, there are a lot of cute animals, scumbags, and “confessions,” but even those serve a purpose. In what feels like an anonymous world, the sharing and making of memes speaks to a larger narrative of influence and opinion. Memes that are deemed poignant or funny by the Internet at large are the ones that go viral, and others are shot down or may see a resurgence many months later when something happens to warrant its return.

As purveyors of all things Art & Design, we respect memes as works of design and artistic expression. The use of typography, edits, and other Photoshopping (when done well) does require some level of skill. Even if sites like Quickmeme and Memegenerator are overflowing with bad, sloppy attempts at meme-making, memes are ultimately artistic, deeply personal, and meant to accurately represent a point-of-view or joke that others can relate to without even knowing the full context.

Learn about the Internet's reaction to the asteroid that almost killed us all, LOL at Miguel's epic WWE audition, and witness Drake continue to be a trend-setter (while running with Forrest Gump and playing ball with Allen Iverson). This may not include everything that happened last month, but these are definitely the highlights you need to know, in case you missed out. Enjoy.

RELATED: What The Hell Just Happened in Music This Week?
RELATED: The 25 Funniest Memes of April 2013
RELATED: The 50 Funniest Memes Featuring Grumpy Cat

Date: May 1

After being hospitalized for 6 days back in March, Lil Wayne suffered from another seizure this month. There were speculations that the seizures were caused by his old vice sizzurp, a deadly concotion containing prescription strength codeine. Wayne claimed that he is in fact epileptic, and he told Sway that he doesn't know when they will happen and that there are no lasting effects. He says it's like falling asleep and waking up, only people are telling you that you were shaking. The fans are concerned, but the Internet is ruthless.

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Date: May 2

Back in April, we learned that Reese Witherspoon and her husband were arrested, and that she said some pretty ridiculous things to the arresting officer. Earlier this month, the footage from the officer's dashboard cam was posted online, and the world got to see just how hilarious the whole encounter was. Witherspoon pulled out the cliché "Don't you know who I am" on the arresting officer, claimed to be pregnant, and said a lot of other crazy things. Blame it on the goose, right Reese? She has since appeared on television apologizing for the embarrassing series of events.

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Date: May 3

Everyone expected Iron Man 3 to do well at the box office, but not this well. We're talking Tony Stark stacks, for real. The film has surpassed both of its previous installments, as well as the other films from Marvel, so far, except The Avengers. Iron Man 3 is now the fifth-highest grossing film of all time, behind (in order) Avatar, The Titanic, The Avengers, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Not bad for a C-list comic book character that no one cared about for decades...

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Date: May 3

Gucci Mane appeared in court on April 17 for an incident involving assaulting a marine with a champagne bottle. Using a photo from the hearing, someone Photoshopped the caption, "Rapper Gucci Mane responds with "Bitch I might be" when asked if guilty," using lyrics from one of the rapper's singles from 2006. The meme gained popularity this month when a Twitter account of the same name was created, attracting 60,000 followers in 12 days.

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Date: May 4

The dual holiday (420 and Star Wars Day) plays off of the date itself, and the popular phrase from the Star Wars saga "May the Force Be With You." The holiday is the same day every year, and every year people make the same jokes, but somehow it never gets old. In keeping with the pun, the next day (May 5) is often referred to as "Revenge of the Fifth" after the sequel film Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars and Internet culture go together like birds of a feather.

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Date: May 6

With Oz the Great and Powerful, Spring Breakers leaving theaters, and This is the End opening soon, James Franco has been out in the public eye a lot more. The folks over at the FW must have noticed his increased presence and decided that it was a good idea for Franco to be in even more. Oh yeah, we put him on our June/July 2013 cover, too.

RELATED: James Franco is in Every Art Exhibition

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Date: May 6

The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a themed Gala every year (this year's was "Punk" following the opening of the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibition) to raise money for its Costume Institute. Many livestreamed to see the who's who and what they had on. Beyonce was an honorary chair of the event, rocking a gold and black Givenchy gown, and Madonna was a show-stopper in her sexy punk gear.

It wasn't all hot outfits and A-list stars, though. In addition to the trainwreck of a livestream (what makes a host think they can interrupt Vivienne Westwood?), some of the outfits, like Kim Kardashian's, were destined for ridicule and fashion policing. Kim K's outfit shocked many at the event for all the wrong reasons—not only because she's very pregnant, but because of the horrendous vintage-floral-couch-like print. We still don't know why Kim or Kanye thought this was a good idea, but it provided lots of laughs, so we thank them.

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Date: May 6

In a news interview that went viral online, Charles Ramsey tells the story of how he was at home eating some McDonald's and heard screaming coming from a house nearby. Ramsey went over to the house and helped rescue three women who had been missing for years and were presumed dead. Ramsey's heroic and hilariously animated, quotable interview made him an Internet sensation once the popular Youtuber schmoyoho "songified" his vocals, similar to the phenomenon of Sweet Brown's "Aint Nobody Got Time Fo Dat." Charles Ramsey has since been offered (and declined) free burgers from various Cleveland area fast food spots, including McDonald's.

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Date: May 10

This star-studded film adaptation of the 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald novel shocked the world when it was announced because, though a classic novel, no one was really begging for it to be made. The film opened this month to mixed reviews (mostly negative), but the soundtrack featuring Florence and the Machine, a duet by Beyoncé and Andre 3000, and Lana del Rey was somewhat praised, selling 137,000 copies in its first week. There were various Gatsby-inpsired memes, including these gems that blend the film with Mean Girls.

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Date: May 12

Chicago Bulls fans were devastated when their prodigal son went down. After surgery, the fans (and everyone else) wondered when they would see D. Rose lace up and hit the court during the NBA Playoffs, thinking that he would be the superstar that the team needed to actually make it to the finals this year. That never happened. Instead, Derrick Rose became a fixture on the sidelines and as a meme for the duration of the NBA post-season.

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Date: May 15

On the set of DJ Khaled's "No New Friends" video, Drake was sporting a Dada jersey and shorts circa 1998. If Drake wants no new friends, this was a great way to send that message. Not only was the outfit very left-field, but his lean in the photo was hilariously awkward too. The combination was too good to ignore and the memes started to flow on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Drake even participated in the fun by posting a couple of his favorites. Nice to see that he has a sense of humor, but it doesn't quite forgive the awful style choice.

RELATED: The 25 Funniest Drake in Dada Memes

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Date: May 16

The second film in the series opened this month, and the Trekkies seem to not hate it completely, which is a good thing. Benedict Cumberbatch of BBC's Sherlock fame has been well received as the villian, and the returning stars more or less lived up to standards set in the first film. Star Trek Into Darkness did ok at the box office but hasn't made the kind of money that the 2009 film did. Expect a decent profit once it becomes available for streaming and purchase across various platforms.

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Date: May 16

Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, known on the Internet as Kai the Hatchet Hitchhiker, was applauded back in February for heroically saving a woman from an attacker by hitting the man repeatedly with his hatchet. Fast-forward to May, and Kai has been arrested as a suspect in the murder of a 73-year-old New Jersey man. That has to be some kind of record for the fastest rise and fall of a hero ever. Kai posted a message to Facebook suggesting that the man drugged and sexually assaulted him. The case will be an interesting one and will no doubt be well-documented online where Kai found his intial fame.

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Date: May 16

Have you seen the CEO and Chairman of Abercrombie and Fitch, Mike Jeffries? Let's just say that he's no Ryan Gosling. Jeffries made terrible statements seven years ago about not wanting "ugly people" in A&F. His comments resurfaced recently, and naturally the pitchforks came out in full force. His face makes these statements very ironic and a bit sad. Rule of thumb: Don't hate on "unpopular", ugly people if you look like an orc from Lord of the Rings.

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Date: May 17

At a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Obama requested that a couple Marines shield him and his guest from the rain, which enraged some people. Apparently, there is a Marine Corp regulation that prohibits male Marines from carrying umbrellas while in uniform. But come on, we all know that the those rules don't apply when it comes to the POTUS...or do they?

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Date: May 17

When Daft Punk releases new music, especially an album featuring the never-aging polymath Pharrell, you listen. Daft Punk have already ushered themselves into music history by innovating electronic music, but Random Access Memories took it back to the genre's roots in disco and early dance. While some immediately dismissed the record off of the leak, others enjoyed the way they looked back in order to move forward with their sound.

RELATED: The 20 Funniest Daft Punk Memes (So Far)

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Date: May 18

In promotion of his new album, Yeezus, Kanye West has been doing some solid marketing to share new singles around the world, including a random visit to New York City's Kith and a performance on the season finale of Saturday Night Live. For the past three weekends, 'Ye sent video projections of his "New Slaves" video to walls all over the world, including Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Royal Ontario Museum, the FBI Building in San Francisco, and the Chanel Store in Los Angeles. Between these performances and news of the all-red Air Yeezy IIs, Kanye is poised to put up major numbers and make history with Yeezus on June 18.

RELATED: Kanye West "New Slaves" OFFICIAL PREMIERE 5/17
RELATED: Kanye's West's "New Slaves" Sample May Have Been Discovered

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Date: May 19

If you listened closely on May 19, you could hear the screams of millions of teens and young adults as Yahoo purchased the beloved blogging site, Tumblr, for $1.1 Billion dollars. This acquisition was Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's first step into reaching a younger demographic and an attempt to revamp Yahoo's image and assets. Tumblr fans panicked, predicting that the new ownership would change every awesome thing they love about the platform. As avid Tumblerers, we pray that's not true.

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Date: May 19

R&B singer Miguel had a minor miscalculation during his performance at the Billboard Music Awards this month. Hyped from the energy of the crowd, he attempted to jump from one stage to another, over the heads of a couple dozen fans. As he began his descent, Miguel kicked one woman in the face and landed on the other's head, pinning her between his leg and the stage. Miguel finished his song and later appeared in an interview backstage with girl he Hulk Hogan-ed, but the other girl was nowhere to be found, and the damage was done as far as the Internet was concerned. People began Photoshopping Miguel into wrestling scenes, video game screenshots, and other scenarios more suitable for that kind of brutality. Recently, we learned that Miguel may be facing charges for unintentionally drop-kicking these women on television. Needless to say, singers will probably keep their feet firmly planted on the ground from now on.

RELATED: 10 Funny Miguel Leg Drop Memes

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Date: May 20

An EF5 tornado with winds up to 210mph tore through parts of central Oklahoma. The tornado stayed on the ground for 39 minutes and moved 17 miles, causing an estimated $1 billion in damages, killing 24 people, and injuring over 300 others. As of June 1, another twister has touched down, and the deathtoll continues to climb. These memes aren't meant to put salt in the wounds of those affected, but instead to point out the very thin silver lining and maybe assuage some of the pain.

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Date: May 21

TIME Magazine did something you never want to do—they angered the Internet, and more specifically, they angered its most frequent, savy users. In their May 2013 issue, TIME address the "Me Me Me" generation, calling them "lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents," and the cover of the magazine featured a girl lying on the ground taking a selfie. The Internet shot back, attacking the writing and audacity of the magazine with parody covers of their own.

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Date: May 21

During the reveal of the Xbox One console, Microsoft showed excited fans a full trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts featuring a dog as one of the new additions. Gamers were so amused by the choice of character for the big debut that hilarity began spilling from the interwebz almost instantly. Those dogs are doomed.

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Date: May 21

Microsoft revealed their new console dubbed the Xbox One, which some critics say looks more like a VCR than a next-gen gaming system. The new system's holistic design has put Microsoft on the defensive following comments and jokes on various social media sites. Anyone who has used Windows 8 knows Microsoft doesn't care what you think. Aesthetics aside, the new features of the Xbox One are plenty, but not all of them were hits with the consumers, specifically on the software side. Gamers are pissed that game-sharing is limited to those in your "household" and the need for a stable Internet connection most of the time hasn't gone over too well either. The PR department over at Microsoft must be frantic these days. Hopefully everything will be sorted out before the release date, or before Sony reveals their next generation console with a built-in espresso machine, jetpack, and deep-tissue massager.

RELATED: The Funniest Xbox One Memes Since Its Reveal

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Date: May 23

Once championed as one of the last wholesome child stars left, Amanda Bynes has been getting crazier and crazier each day. From random Twitter rants to run-ins with the cops, not a week goes by that Bynes isn't in the news for some wacky antics. Recently, the cops were called to her apartment, because there were reports that she was smoking marijuana. When the cops arrived and asked her about a bong, she allegedly threw it out of her 36th floor window and claimed it was a vase. Needless to say, things don't look promising for her in June.

RELATED: The "Baby Animals Meet Amanda Bynes' Tweets" Meme

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Date: May 26

In a 2-hour special called Mermaid: The Body Found, scientists and "experts" led viewers to believe that there were actually human-like beings living under the sea (no Jamaican crabs though). The mockumentary was so convincing that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration got overwhelmed with calls about the creatures. Once things had been cleared up, all that was left was disappointment, relief, and lots of mermaid jokes.

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Date: May 26

The show Arrested Development returned after a seven-year hiatus as a Netflix exclusive to much excitement and enthusiasm from fans. Once named the funniest show on television by IGN, Arrested Development did not have the largest viewership, but it definitely has had a cult following. AD watchers are definitely fanatics. The show was canceled after its third season on Fox for low viewership and ratings, and many metaphorical tears were shed. After years of rumors and broken promises, the show returned for 15 new episodes. To build publicity for the show, a traveling banana stand made its way around the country, and some of the actors made appearances, too, handing out frozen bananas to the hoards of excited fans.

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Date: May 29

Comic Nathan Fielder struck again this month with one of his Twitter games. He told his followers to text their significant others the words "I haven't been fully honest with you," and then not to respond for an hour and post the results online. Just like with his "Got 2 Grams for 40" game, there were some pretty funny and semi-sad conversations posted.

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Date: May 29

The pissed-off cat that everyone loves, Tardar Sauce, has completed her domination of the Internet, has had art shows in her honor, is releasing a book, and will have her own movie soon. The project will be a Garfield-esque film starring the cat, and there are reports that she will indeed have dialogue. You can probably guess her feelings about the whole thing.

RELATED: The 50 Funniest Grumpy Cat Memes

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Date: May 30

Before a tipoff, Tim Duncan was photographed hugging the basketball. Why? No one knows. Rubie Edmondson of For The Win decided it would be better if Duncan embraced a few other objects, so she created these memes, further cementing Duncan as the gentle giant of the NBA.

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Date: May 31

Around May 24, news spread that there was a massive 1.7-mile-wide "Earth killer" asteroid heading in our direction. The rock was discovered 15 years ago and was said to be covered in a black substance. Reports also said that the asteroid was similar to the one that killed the dinosaurs. While scientists reassure us that it won't get within 3 million miles of Earth, it still freaked a lot of people out. Our superheroes were a little preoccupied and didn't come to the rescue, but luckliy the asteroid passed without making contact and won't be back until 2119. Good luck Complex readers of the future.

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