Anyone can agree that 2016 has been... crazy, to say the very least. With all the political turmoil, violence, and strained relations this year, it's been difficult to find much reprieve from bad news. However, I like to see rays of light in even the darkest of times, and some of the best things to come out of this year have definitely been the memes. In no particular order, here are the thirteen best memes of 2016!
1. Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer
2. Harambe the Gorilla
This is a controversial meme, partly due to the racist ways some used it (although it was popularly used in other ways), partly because it stemmed from the death of a beloved zoo animal. Regardless of how you feel, he will live forever as the defining meme of 2016.
3. DJ Khaled
No one really understands anything he says, but that's the reason he's a meme, isn't it?
4. Caveman Spongebob
This image of Spongebob, or SpongeGar, as he's been popularly dubbed, has blown up this year.
5. I'm dropping hints that I'm ***. // I'm ***.
This meme originates from Kim Kardashian, aka the Queen of Memes, discussing being single on her hit show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Although the scene originally aired on an episode in 2012, the meme itself exploded in August of this year.
6. Taylor Swift is a Snake
Proving herself a legend, Kim Kardashian once again provided the internet with legendary material when she called out Taylor Swift on SnapChat this summer. While Swift had previously claimed that she hadn't known West was going to mention her a song he'd recently released, Kim's video proved she had lied. And thus, a meme was born.
7. Sad Affleck
A modern revival of an old meme (Hello Darkness My Old Friend), this meme started when a video of Ben Affleck looking sad while doing an interview for the recently released Batman vs. Superman went viral. It's mostly used in video form.
8. Petty Skai Jackson
Skai Jackson, aka the star of former Disney Channel show Jessie, aka the Queen of Pettiness, showed us all what a true star is when she posted this picture and it subsequently went viral.
9. Math Lady
While posted originally in 2013, this meme (depicting Brazilian soap opera star Renata Sorrah) spread slowly and then became extremely popular in the late half of 2016.
10. Confused Mr. Krabs
No other image can quite capture the mixture of confusion, shock, and horror like this one.
11. Arthur's Fist
The onslaught of Arthur memes that took over Twitter this summer were all legendary, but none resonated more with the public than this image of Arthur's angry fist.
12. Shook
A seemingly innocuous word, it suddenly blew up in the last couple of months and now I can't go a day without seeing it at least a dozen times. To be honest, it left me feeling pretty shook.
13. Joanne the Scammer
She's a legend, an icon, and honestly? None of us are worthy. If you don't know who she is, you have to look her up. Trust me--you'll regret it if you don't.
