Memes came into existence many years ago and who can forget the classics? If you’ve been on the internet for more than a decade, you should remember all of the memes below.
These memes may have been forgotten by now, given the continuous stream of new ones almost every day or week. Here are some of the dead memes that used to be popular back then.
They may still be used these days thanks to meme generators but they’re not as popular anymore.
1. Troll Face
Who can forget Troll Face? It’s probably one of the first memes ever created on the internet, or rather what defined memes in the first place. Almost nobody uses this meme anymore these days but it will be remembered as a pioneer. It was used whenever you trolled someone.
2. Me Gusta
Me Gusta was first used as part of a rage comic drawing by Matt Oswald. It became popular as it was uploaded on Reddit and 4Chan. It later spread to 9GAG as well. It typically means an approval of a perverse or awkward situation.
3. Nyan Cat
Nyan Cat is an 8-bit animation that depicts a cat with a cherry pop tart body flying through space with rainbows on its trail. This GIF or meme was made popular when it was posted on a site LOL-COMICS. There are also videos of it on YouTube that runs almost endlessly.
4. Disaster Girl
This meme was actually a product of a photoshop where a smiling girl was superimposed on an image of a burning house. It implies that she’s the cause behind the disaster or calamity in the background.
5. Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That
The person in the GIF is an Oklahoma City resident and is called Sweet Brown (pseudonym). A local news station interviewed her after evacuating from a burning apartment building. She ran out without her shoes and when interviewed, she said “ain’t nobody got time for that”.
6. Jackie Chan WTF
This meme was a drawing of Jackie Chan’s reaction when he put both his hands on his head. He may not have meant the WTF reaction, but it became popularized as the Jackie Chan WTF meme as the image seems to suggest that, and it’s used in those situations.
7. Arthur’s Fist
Arthur is a children’s television series and someone made a screen capture of Arthur clenching his fist in one of the episodes. It became used as a meme to describe infuriating or frustrating situations.
8. Confused Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in Lord of the Rings and in the first installment of the movie, Gandalf said that he has “no memory of this place” when the fellowship were inside the Mines of Moria. It is used as a meme to depict a situation of unfamiliarity.
9. Overly Attached Girlfriend
Overly Attached Girlfriend is a meme that originated from a YouTube video titled “JB Fanvideo” where she performed a parody of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” with her own lyrics. Due to the way she looked and acted in the video, she became a meme to depict clingy girlfriends.
10. I Too Like To Live Dangerously
This meme is from the movie Austin Powers (1997) where Austin played by Mike Myers mentioned in a blackjack game that “I also like to live dangerously”. It became a meme that is used in situations where you do stupid or disadvantageous things and make this comment to “justify” your act.
11. Sudden Clarity Clarence
Sudden Clarity Clarence is a meme of a man at a party who looks like he just got an epiphany or realized something. It is often used when you have sudden awareness or realization of something that may have been obvious all along.
12. Joseph Ducreux
Ducreux is an 18th century artist known for his paintings. His unique self-portrait became popular as a meme due to his pose. It is now used as a meme for rap lyrics or even poetry.
13. Overly Manly Man
Overly manly man meme is basically a black and white picture of a rather tough looking man that is shirtless and has a typical tough guy moustache. It is used to depict an alpha male who is overly masculine with his misogynistic thinking.
14. Chuck Norris Facts
Chuck Norris is an American actor and martial artist that is usually depicted as super tough on television. All of the memes that spawned from Chuck Norris Facts imply that he is stronger than anything or do impossible things. Examples of usage would be “Chuck Norris can delete the Recycle Bin” or even in The Expendables when he said “a cobra bit his leg and after five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died”.
15. Snape
There are a couple of memes related to Snape and this is one of them. It is typically used in situations where you get surprised or shocked. It is also used whenever something absurds happen and you’re like WTF.
16. I Know That Feel Bro
This meme is more of a slang to say that you understand or empathize what another person is going through. It basically means “I feel you bro”.
17. How About No Bear
This meme originated from a photo of a bear extending its paws out, that kinda looks like it’s saying “how about no”. Although the phrase became popular from Austin Powers, this bear became an entirely new meme altogether.
18. McKayla Maroney Not Impressed
Next on the list of dead memes is none other than this iconic look by McKayla Maroney, a gymnast during the 2012 Olympic Games. She received the silver medal and on the podium, she made a “not impressed” expression on her face that went viral.
19. If You Know What I Mean
This meme originated from Rowan Atkinson when he played the role Mr. Bean. He made the face “if you know what I mean”, although he may not have meant it in the film itself. It is now used to imply some kind of sexual innuendo.
20. Mother Of God
Last but not least, Mother of God is a meme used to show disbelief at a shocking situation, image or video. It is a reaction face, just like Troll Face or Me Gusta.
Are these memes dead today?
Most of us should still know the memes that have been listed above.
They’re not totally dead yet, as many meme generators still use them as templates.
That said, they’re nowhere as popular as they used to be. And who can forget that Skyrim’s “I took an arrow to the knee”?
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