2019 was a crazy year. On every spectrum out there–political, environmental, emotional–there were so many surprises and twists that brought us all on the ride of our lives. And what did we do in response to all these events? We made memes. Of course, we did.
Here are the memes that made us laugh this 2019.
44. im angy
The internet loves cats. So naturally, we continue to make memes out of them! It started out as this adorable photo of a kitten turned away from the camera and slowly people added the “no talk me im angy” caption. A meme was born.
43. Mga words
During an emotional moment on PBB: Teens Edition, Kit Thompson talked about how he was trying to hold back some… words. This aired years back but the clip resurfaced and turned into one of the biggest memes on the timeline.
Ancient Greeks after accidentally looking at Medusa pic.twitter.com/oKlv1Lt9Xx
— quad 👊🏻 (@quaddiequad) March 17, 2019
42. And I oop–
In a video where Jasmine Masters was talking about how people can’t handle their liquor, she accidentally, uh, hits a tender spot and interrupts herself with “and I oop–.” Soon enough the clip was cut out and used for interrupting oneself. The meme potential is off the charts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1PRrMYlG2e/
41. VSCO girls
Speaking of “and I oop–” these people are the ones who use the phrase the most. VSCO girls are scrunchy-wearing, metal straw-using, hydroflask-having beings who like to laugh with “skskkssk” and say “that’s the tea.” They originated on Tik Tok and live on in every high school everywhere.
40. Dante Gulapa
I think everyone on social media in the Philippines has seen snippets or gifs of the viral Dante Gulapa dance. Gulapa used to be a macho dancer in order to make ends meet in terms of finances. His social media fame skyrocketed but he remained humble and grateful and soooo precious that he transcended meme status to someone we all collectively love.
39. im baby
This became the slogan for pabebe girls everywhere. Instead of responding to someone being stern with you, just slip an “im baby” and all your troubles will melt away.
38. Dalagang Pilipina
This took Philippine social media by storm and had everyone nodding along and tucking hair behind their ears. Mimiyuuuh slowly became the face of the Dalagang Pilipina and everyone caught on with the full bangs and bright lips.
https://twitter.com/miyaketakoyaki/status/1209843938946760705
37. Tala challenge
Tala was originally released in 2016 but it made an enormous comeback this year with all the dance covers it inspired. Netizens were posting Tik Toks, twitter videos, Facebook videos, etc. joining in on the dance craze. The influence is incredible.
36. Momo
Didn’t include a photo for this one as people are still terribly entrenched in the idea of the photo being cursed and being linked to negative things on kids’ videos. But Momo definitely trended this year and she was part of some pretty creepy memes sometimes.
35. SEA Games logo
While the SEA Games launched 1000 memes of their own, the logo was especially meme-d out. Here we have the “deconstructed” version.
34. … and it shows
Twitter was alive with memes this year and copy-pastas such as this “Some of y’all……. and it shows” meme drew so much attention. It was simple, all you had to do was cite something semi-universal that a big group could hook on to but still have some exclusions. A lot of people aired out their grievances while some people just took the opportunity to be funny.
https://twitter.com/jwesley710/status/1082101378862829569
33. no one:
Also known as the “nobody” or “literally nobody” meme, it’s usually clever commentary on how people put themselves out there, often with comedic results.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOGulcndj-/
32. The brown egg
This is the egg that broke Instagram. It was posted in January of 2019, kicking off 2019 in a weird, weird way. It originally had the goal of beating out the most liked photo on IG which was a Kylie Jenner snap. It currently has over 50 million likes. It’s insane.
31. Marie Kondo
Does it spark joy? Tidying Up with Marie Kondo was a massive hit and had thrift stores and other ukay places filled to the brim with new merch to sell because of how much people were tossing out. The memes truly did spark joy. Thank you, Marie Kondo.
30. Area 51
What started as a joke of a Facebook event slowly grew to become something bigger. “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” was an event created by Matty Roberts that gained so much traction, they threw a big party for it. Everyone was on the hype train and it naturally spawned the most hilarious memes.
29. Ok, boomer
Boomer is short for baby boomer, the generation that birthed most of us netizens today! It’s usually a response to those who needlessly criticize us with their more archaic ways and beliefs.
28. Woman and a cat
Once upon a time on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Taylor Armstrong got into a heated argument. But not with this cat! They were only put together by someone on Twitter and the rest is history.
You vs. The Guy She Told You Not to Worry About pic.twitter.com/eM4rvoR3Jc
— Nick Martucci (serious) (@BlunderingIdiom) November 12, 2019
27. Sonic
When the original Sonic trailer came out, fans and non-fans alike were thrown off by the design choices made. Many commented on the teeth, the eyes, the fur–everything. The studio was responsive enough to refurbish the design and the Sonic memes were born.
26. Kombucha girl
Another promising meme format came from a Tik Tok of this girl trying Kombucha for the first time. Her expressive face immediately made everyone latch on for the meme potential.
Drew Barrymore in 50 first dates: pic.twitter.com/EwCwZs4eTO
— you are not a tree! (@foreverignorant) September 14, 2019
25. Sorry to this man
This video of Keke Palmer in an interview has been shortened and made into a meme. And the results are side-splitting. One of my favorites was captioned with “Peter when asked about Jesus.”
24. Rise and shine
Kylie Jenner has been stealing headlines alongside her famous family for years. So when she woke up her daughter with a sing-song phrase, the internet was quick to jump on it and milk it for all it was worth.
23. Fyre Festival Andy
The long-awaited Fyre Festival documentary dropped in 2019 and everyone was quick to watch it. While the festival itself was already a humongous meme, there was one key person who stood out. Introducing Andy King, the man who truly went above and beyond and showed dedication to his work. His last name is appropriate. Man’s a king.
22. Just kidding… unless ?
This meme just let people be a little more risky on Twitter. As if people weren’t already taking risks on the bird app! It’s a flirtatious copy-pasta that poses a scenario, takes it back lightly as a joke, then returns it with a suspenseful “unless…?”
https://twitter.com/drazux_/status/1167210318591856640
21. Ight Imma head out
Spongebob memes are a classic. It seems like every year we get a new addition to the collection, which is a win for everyone. This shot of him mid-sit in front of his TV has inspired memes of leaving and the tonal difference coupled with the circumstances people add it to make it so so funny.
Gonna tell my kids this is Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello pic.twitter.com/B3LaMZiSlN
— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) November 19, 2019
gonna tell my kids this was one direction pic.twitter.com/SV56x9QLgS
— anna (@annawcp) November 17, 2019
20. Gonna tell my kids
Ignoring the idea of having kids in the future despite the impending doom of climate change, the “gonna tell my kids” meme demonstrates the internet’s wit yet again. The humor is in the approximation in this one.
— Adam N. A. (@AdamUnavailable) April 6, 2019
19. Ah, shit, here we go again
CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas uttered these words more than a decade ago but the clip has resurfaced and, naturally, has been churned out by thousands of people to become meme-worthy. It’s such a simple statement but it applies to so many things. No wonder it became so popular.
18. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were co-stars in A Star is Born and they performed their song at the Oscars in 2019. It was an intimate affair… They were really close and really feeling it. So people wanted to profess their love in a similar way.
17. Lunch table
Who could ever forget the traumatizing striation system that was looking for a place to sit at lunch? Revisit that dark time in your life with this meme.
*coldplay “fix you” voice* let me ride………..the fish tube
— bb ghost (@emilywithcurls) August 12, 2019
16. Fish tube
Okay, this one was a liiiittle weird. But it made me laugh so hard nonetheless. People put together a system that would help fish pass over dams in a fraction of the time. But it looks so funny and so absurd that people started wondering what it’d be like to ride it. Hence… fish tube memes.
This system helps native fish pass over dams in seconds rather than day pic.twitter.com/aAmhHArjPg
— Dr. Kash Sirinanda (@kashthefuturist) August 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/MrSoupreme/status/1143279029899976706
15. What it do baybee
Kawhi Leonard has been regarded as the hero of the NBA in a time there were super-teams (or at least that’s how my ex described him when we were still talking). But this viral clip of him saying “what it do baby” with a straight face made the internet go wild. Go ahead, slide into their DMs with this clip.
Therapist: And what do we say when we feel like this?
Me: It be like that sometimes
Therapist: No
— Sabrina (@stfu_sabs) July 8, 2019
14. Therapist: And what do we say…
Mental health awareness has been widespread the past few years–which is great! We’re glad people are prioritizing their mental health now, too. We’re normalizing having therapists and seeking help and it’s wonderful and heart-warming. So we, of course, had to start including possible conversations with our therapists in the sphere of memes.
Telling people "I don't have kids"
– invites too many questions
– people feel entitled to tell you about why you should
– vagueTelling people "30-50 feral hogs ate my kids"
– specific
– no follow-up questions needed
– people stop talking to you— Oliver Sachgau (@sachgau) August 6, 2019
13. 30-50 feral hogs
This one was pretty obscure as its origins were pretty dark. In response to mass shootings and the call for a ban on assault rifles, a Twitter user complained about the “30-50 feral hogs” that would show up in his backyard when his kids were playing. The specificity was so absurd that people began to inject it everywhere.
yung ayaw mong makita si crush na may kasamang iba pic.twitter.com/SZYg60vxvH
— rey (@augustheadxx) December 27, 2018
12. Bird Box
This movie was intense, suspenseful, and made all of us freak out at a gust of wind. Also, we hate Gary.
https://twitter.com/darth/status/1110625871436505088
11. Avenge the Fallen
When Avengers: Endgame was coming out, the posters had all the characters who perished in greyscale with the phrase “Avenge the Fallen” emblazoned on the images. This prompted the internet to do the same with other characters, even Ellie from Up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BznxfkQgU13
10. Bottle cap challenge
This one got weirder and weirder as it evolved. As evidenced above.
https://twitter.com/skinkshame/status/1171443545720229888
9. Cultural impact
This Twitter meme is simple. The more bars above the initial category, the stronger its supposed cultural impact. People have made some controversial takes with this.
me explaining
a song I heard
years ago only
knowing the melody google pic.twitter.com/pCXHHH8e3i— Elizabeth Zaks (@ElizabethZaks) May 29, 2019
8. Me explaining to my
I think the funniest thing behind this meme is that the two photos are not related in the least. The woman on the left is Twitter user @quenblackwell who posted the photo as the before in her before and after mental health glo-up tweet. The right is Ms. Juicy Baby from Little Women: Atlanta. Together they’re unstoppable.
https://twitter.com/okaishawty/status/1197287391561539584
7. Hey! I’m so glad you reached out.
This one was born out of a pretty genuine response to how one can tell a friend who needs help that they aren’t quite in the right mindset to help out. But it was a liiiittle cold and impersonal, making people jump onto its meme potential.
https://twitter.com/bayoulejeune/status/1201550232548331520
6. Are you in the right headspace?
This one has a similar energy to the previous one. Pretty similar origins, too. “Are you in the right headspace to receive information that could possibly hurt you?” feels impersonal and unfriendly and could’ve been said a lot better, tbh.
5. Am I a joke to you?
This meme made a comeback this year with more text counterparts rather than the image. It’s a great comeback for when you feel someone has undermined you.
— Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) December 16, 2019
4. Marriage Story
When Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver were nominated for the Golden Globes, their big fight scene on A Marriage Story went viral on Twitter. People took the clips out of context, screencapped them, and made their own versions of the fight.
https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1199673216329027586
3. Flight attendant
This one came and went in a flurry but it had its moments. In a crossover between a flight joke and the shame of professions outside of the medical vein, people sarcastically took to Twitter for their career-related hugot that might just be attached to bringing shame upon their families.
https://twitter.com/Yaboyleeoo/status/1174384860686737409
2. Girl looking at phone
Kayla Nicole Jones has done it again. She’s also the lady who tried to straighten her hair–earning hilarious results.
1. Baby Yoda
Who could forget the onslaught of Baby Yoda memes? When we saw the cutest creature in the galaxy, we all collectively lost it. No wonder the Mandalorian keeps him so close. We want one, too!
Which one’s your favorite meme?
