Ten Unforgettable Web Memes
Cats and failures highlight this list of the memes that have gone mainstream. Which ones did we miss?
- By Megan Gambino, Ryan R. Reed, Jesse Rhodes and Brian Wolly
- Smithsonian.com, April 18, 2011
(Redferns / Getty Images)
All the hallmarks of a bad-1980s music video are there: Big hair, synthesized chords, bad dancing and desolate urban settings. But even then, no one really knows for sure why the Rick Astley video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” became such an internet sensation. To “rickroll,” is to send someone a link under the auspices that it is something more interesting, only to fool them into watching the music video. The genesis for the prank came from 4chan, where “duck rolling” was the term meant teasing a provocative headline with an image of a duck on wheels. From there, it evolved to a fake Grand Theft Auto IV trailer that linked to the Astley video. The meme could have “jumped the shark” when Astley was given a spot in 2008’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, perhaps the antithesis of sites like 4chan, but the trick still has its moments. When the cache of Wikileaks documents was dumped in late 2010, a spoof of the official documents appeared with the lyrics to “Never Gonna Give You Up.” -- BW
Unrelatedly, check out these adorable lion cub photos!
Comments (29)
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Nice, comprehensive list - but so many of these have already jumped the shark. Good new examples of some very nice YouTube lists:
http://www.ranker.com/tags/youtube
Posted by LaraP on September 28,2011 | 04:43 PM
Don't forget the best meme of all: DERP!!!
Posted by a random guy on September 27,2011 | 05:48 PM
"was the term meant teasing a provocative headline with an image of a duck on wheels."
Huh?
Posted by Gene Callahan on September 26,2011 | 09:15 AM
No goatse, no top 10.
Posted by Simon Hawkin on August 24,2011 | 12:37 AM
I would say this is fairly comprehensive for a top ten, although I agree that the scare meme (which is similar to a Rick Roll) should have been included, and Win should have been included alongside fail. Overall this is a WIN. # I totally predicted that lion cub trick... LOL
Posted by Coop on June 5,2011 | 10:48 AM
Yeah guys, we know there's 6 billion other viral videos and memes, but the idea was to keep it at 10, and the 10 most famous, not every popular phrase or chunk of information that's ever been on the internet.
Posted by Matt on June 2,2011 | 09:19 PM
The unfortunate skier on Wide World was a jumper, not a downhiller. And according to my memory, the voice-over as he crashed on the in run and slid over the lip of the jump was "the human drama of athletic competition."
The oxymoronic "act of predetermined spontaneity" (in the description of "flash mob") ought to become a meme in itself!
Posted by Ed Cash on May 24,2011 | 04:00 PM
What about "I heard you like mudkipz" :p this is so dated its a major FAIL
Posted by Mooncat on May 22,2011 | 08:22 PM
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw. You have "fail" but not "win"? That's a fail all on its own...../
Posted by Rachel on May 18,2011 | 03:21 PM
What about the video-game Portal? with memes like "the cake is a lie" or the companion cube
Posted by Thomas Jones on May 17,2011 | 06:59 PM
the "scary pop up" meme?
Posted by Kyle Inlander on May 17,2011 | 05:02 PM
The cake is a lie.
This list is a lie.
This list is very incomplete.
You wouldnt want to tick off GLaDOS would you?
Posted by Josh Boyd on May 16,2011 | 09:07 PM
I think there's a guy in a bunker who is going to be very upset that he's not on your list.
Posted by Andy on May 15,2011 | 09:43 PM
What about the mother of all memes, that one commonly symbolized with two hands gripping the edges of a circle?
Posted by JM on May 15,2011 | 05:41 PM
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