memes

"Marine Todd" Is an Awesomely Stupid Right-Wing Meme That Got Hijacked

Adam Weinstein · 03/31/14 12:55PM

It's the story of a man. A man who went to war. And then went to college. And then decked a godless shithead professor. It's a feel-good story! And it went viral among God-fearing Murkans. And then Twitter got hold of it. And then it got really good.

Doge Is An Actually Good Internet Meme. Wow.

Adrian Chen · 11/07/13 06:30PM

There was a time—early 2012?—when memes were "cool," and "funny." In those days, I often laughed at the memes when I came across them in my browsing, sharing them with friends via Twitter or Facebook, and even posting them on Gawker.com.

The Story of The Rich Serbian Bachelor Meme Is Weirder Than It Seems [UPDATE]

Adrian Chen · 10/16/13 06:05PM

Maybe you have seen these ridiculous photos of the rich Serbian bachelor? It seems each year the meme resurfaces like an old rash, and they have been making the rounds again. But now we learn the story behind them may be weirder than they seem. According to Animal New York, the rich Serbian Bachelor is actually an Icelandic cult leader who works at a fastfood restaurant. Update: No, it's not: Animal now says it's got the wrong guy.

1-800-F1U-CKYO: The Birth of a Beautiful Conservative Meme

J.K. Trotter · 10/03/13 04:55PM

A beautiful thing happened on Thursday morning. The Drudge Report threw up a giant headline, “SIGN UP: 1-800-FUCKYO,” beneath a Photoshopped picture of Barack Obama holding the bell of a stethoscope. The headline linked to a Daily Caller item, published several hours prior, about Healthcare.gov’s toll-free hotline, which is 1-800-318-2596. These numbers, associate editor Katie McHugh wrote, correspond to 1-800-FUCKYO. Sort of.

How to Get Rich from Memes: Steal Other Memes

Max Read · 09/30/13 10:44AM

Grumpy Cat, the cat who looks grumpy, is on the cover of this week's New York magazine, advertising a profile. The "estimated value" of Grumpy Cat, Ltd., the Grumpy Cat company, is $1 million.

"Harlem Shake" Creator Insists His Viral Smash Hasn't Made Him Money

Camille Dodero · 08/19/13 06:11AM

Baauer is the 24-year-old trap-rave producer whose future-crunk behemoth “Harlem Shake” soundtracked Norwegian army drills, morning-show derp squads, school suspensions, an FAA investigation, a fiery fall, and a mass stabbing among perhaps a zillion other flash-mob dancing demonstrations, thanks to a craze perhaps orchestrated by corporations. But despite debuting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after chart rules changed to incorporate YouTube streams, the Brooklyn-based DJ insists that his best-known smash hasn't directly earned him money. How could that be?

What the Hell Happens Five Minutes Into This Richard Dawkins Speech?

Cord Jefferson · 06/24/13 12:27PM

World's most insufferable atheist Richard Dawkins opened Saatchi & Saatchi's New Directors Showcase at Cannes last week with a brief speech on "memes," a term and concept he introduced in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. While the first 5 minutes of Dawkins' lecture were pretty standard fare, the last 3 minutes and 47 seconds were some kind of seapunk/EDM/psychotropic mashup, complete with Dawkins coming out to do a quick ditty on an electronic woodwind instrument at the end.

The 'Harlem Shake' Viral Craze Was Created By Corporations

Adrian Chen · 03/29/13 04:34PM

Internet memes are often portrayed as the last bastion of truly spontaneous culture—almost magic things that spawn haphazardly from the digital mire. This may have been somewhat true with early internet memes. (After all, what corporation would want to co-opt Goatse?) But today memes are as corporate as any other form of popular culture.