Change My Mind
Meme culture has been rampant ever since classic viral videos and images like “David After Dentist” and Rickrolling changed the internet for the better. At this point, we’re not even sure what makes some jokes so popular, but the point is they catch on quickly and soon enough even your grandparents are using them, so for this list we’re looking at the most widespread internet gags that took off in 2018 and had us laughing again and again. We’re basing our choices on a mix of staying power, popularity and just how funny each meme is, so keep reading if you’re prepared to laugh.Â
5: Evil Patrick (aka Savage Patrick)
In the episode ‘Nature Pants,’ a crazed Patrick sports the world’s most sinister expression while chasing SpongeBob. The close-up of Patrick’s smirk started circulating in early 2018, linked to various malevolent situations. Strangely the meme gained a lot of popularity through jokes about gross sexual behaviour. ‘Evil Patrick’ became best known however for representing people’s inner selves when they were doing things they know they shouldn’t. Vice even argued that the meme was a bleak reflection of how negative people are. Whatever the reason is, Patrick’s face is now a calling-card for troublemakers.
4: Is This a Pigeon?
In ‘The Brave of Sun Fighbird’ the oblivious android Yutaro mixes up a butterfly with a pigeon. Stills of this scene circulated the web as early as 2011, having misidentified it as an example of a translation fail. The meme was revived in 2018, as users started to play around again with the words in the frame and pictures within it. Netflix cemented the joke’s success when it used it to comment on how many 28-year-old play teens on TV. Since then, even politicians have used it to question outrageous rhetoric. With all the buzz around fake news, ‘Is This a Pigeon?’ is wildly relevant yet again.
3: The Tide POD Challenge
Before 2018, detergent pods caused so many Poison Control calls that Procter & Gamble redesigned their packaging. The candy-like look of the inedible detergent gave rise to a wave of ‘forbidden snack’ memes in which people obsessed over eating them, and January 2018 saw internet users challenging each other to eat Tide PODS on camera. Tide’s social media team was working overtime directing people to Poison Control, and the company launched a PSA within a week. Even Tide’s Eco-Box faced criticism for looking like box wine. While it’s unclear how many people actually ate PODS, it’s crazy how far this craze went. And for the record, you should absolutely NOT eat Tide Pods.
2: Yodel Boy
Yodelling hadn’t been particularly popular for a while, but Mason’s Ramsey’s Walmart performance changed all that. As part of his gig as a Hank Williams impersonator, Mason Ramsey would cover ‘Lovesick Blues’ a cappella. A clip of him singing went viral, inspiring remixes into EDM and trap. Soon Ramsey was edited into movies, old commercials and even ongoing memes. His fame snowballed into a minor musical career and gave an insane streaming boost to the original song. With his anachronistic style and amazing singing, ‘Yodel Boy’ was so unique that he stuck with us.
1: I Don’t Feel So Good
Spider-Man’s fate in “Avengers: Infinity War” left fans distraught, and the emotional moment popularized the phrase ‘I Don’t Feel So Good.’ Fans started using a particle effect to send off SpongeBob and even Stan Lee himself. People also both commemorated and lampooned cancelled shows, expired memes, and disgraced celebrities the same way. The Disintegration Effect had taken off in 2017 using the same dissolve photoshop technique, but ‘I Don’t Feel So Good’ brought it to new levels of memeness thanks to the insane success of ‘Infinity War’ and an extremely versatile idea.
“Like Scoob, I don’t feel so good†pic.twitter.com/V5DWaPnAqB
— V.RI (@heisntisaac) April 30, 2018
What was YOUR favorite meme from this year? Don’t see it on the list above? Make sure to check out the full video HERE or on WatchMojo.com and follow along with all of our End of Year content with this Playlist!
Here’s our meme roundup from last year, do you remember any of these?!
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