All Your Base Are Belong to Us
A mistranslated game villain’s announcement became a slogan that people inserted into pictures, songs and everyday scenes.
Format memes
2000
2004
One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor
Boromir’s grave warning becomes a reusable sentence for tasks that are much harder than they sound: one does not simply do the thing.
2006
Do a Barrel Roll
A spacecraft’s defensive maneuver becomes an absurd all-purpose instruction, attached to spinning animals, tumbling objects and unrelated conversations.
LOLcats
Cat photographs speak in deliberately broken English, making the captioned animal into a playful narrator.
They See Me Rollin’
A boastful driving chorus becomes an incongruous caption for harmless riders, unlikely vehicles and slow-motion video edits.
This Is Sparta!
A film character’s emphatic answer became a portable punchline: swap the setting, exaggerate the shout, or recut it into a repeating remix.
2007
Hello There
An ordinary greeting delivered by Obi-Wan becomes a theatrical entrance, a remix cue and a repeatable prequel-meme response.
Rickroll
A link promises something relevant or exciting, then delivers Rick Astley singing “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
2008
Pepe the Frog
Matt Furie’s comic frog becomes a family of reaction faces and artworks.
Trollface
The mischievous rage-comic grin signals trolling and elaborate bait.
2009
I Wish I Was At Home
A lone partygoer wishes for the comfort of home while everyone else seems absorbed in the party, turning social discomfort into a reusable inner monologue.
Socially Awkward Penguin
A blue-backed penguin narrates small social missteps.
2010
Philosoraptor
A pondering dinosaur turns everyday contradictions into mock-philosophical questions. The fixed illustration makes each new caption feel like another thought from the same character.
Wojak / Feels Guy
A simply drawn face expresses melancholy, empathy and countless later moods.
X, X Everywhere
Buzz gestures across an imagined landscape while Woody looks on: repeat a noun, add “everywhere,” and turn abundance into a joke or complaint.
You Shall Not Pass
Gandalf’s defiant warning becomes a reusable joke about barriers, blocked routes and refusing entry.
2011
Ancient Aliens
A television gesture becomes a reusable punch line: a complicated mystery receives the same implausibly simple answer, aliens.
Business Cat
A tie-wearing cat acts like an office boss, until the caption turns an ordinary management request into unmistakably feline behavior.
First World Problems
An exaggerated expression of distress turns a small everyday inconvenience into a self-aware complaint about privilege.
Futurama Fry / Not Sure If
Fry’s suspicious squint gives indecision a face: two competing explanations become the upper and lower halves of a caption.
Good Guy Greg
The smiling smoker unexpectedly does the considerate thing.
Spider-Man Pointing at Spider-Man
Two matching costumes, two accusing fingers: a cartoon confrontation becomes a compact way to show similarity, mistaken identity or mutual blame.
This Is Where I’d Put My Trophy, If I Had One
An empty display space becomes a two-step joke: announce where a prized possession would go, then reveal that there is nothing to display.
You Don’t Say?
An exaggerated face turns a seemingly surprised response into sarcasm: the discovery was obvious all along.
2012
Ermahgerd
A photograph of a young reader clutching Goosebumps books became an exaggerated expression of excitement. Deliberately distorted spelling carries the joke beyond the original picture.
I Should Buy a Boat Cat
A newspaper-reading cat becomes a miniature portrait of sudden ambition: a serious-looking reader decides that buying something is the answer.
Overly Manly Man
An antique boxer delivers exaggerated feats of toughness.
Praise the Sun / Solaire of Astora
A sun-seeking knight and his cheerful language of cooperation become a reusable gaming-community greeting and fan-art motif.
2013
Doge
A Shiba Inu’s sideways glance becomes a field of colorful, fragmentary thoughts. Comic Sans and intentionally unusual grammar make the caption style as recognizable as the dog.
2014
Daily Struggle / Two Buttons
Two incompatible button labels and a sweating decision-maker turn an abstract dilemma into a tiny control-room drama.
Kermit Sipping Tea
A sip of tea supplies the punchline: make a pointed observation, then pretend to step away with “but that’s none of my business.”
Press F to Pay Respects
A literal keyboard instruction at a fictional funeral becomes a compact online response to loss, failure or an unfortunate moment.
Twitch Plays Pokémon
Thousands of chat commands try to steer one Pokémon adventure, turning coordination failures and ordinary game objects into shared folklore.
2016
Awkward Look Monkey Puppet
A puppet glances sideways and then away, turning a tiny eye movement into an awkward reaction.
Drakeposting
Drake's rejecting and approving gestures become a two-choice visual ballot.
Evil Kermit
A frog facing his hooded double becomes a two-voice debate between restraint and the tempting bad idea.
Guess I’ll Die
A red-shirted man shrugs, pairing exaggerated resignation with problems that range from everyday annoyances to unaffordable healthcare.
Roll Safe
A finger to the temple signals a supposedly clever solution whose logic collapses on inspection.
2017
Blinking White Guy
Drew Scanlon’s double take conveys bafflement and disbelief.
Distracted Boyfriend
Three labels turn a wandering glance into a diagram of temptation, neglected commitments and competing choices.
Expanding Brain
Increasingly radiant brains accompany an escalating ladder of ideas, often making the supposedly smartest option the silliest.
2018
American Chopper Argument
An escalating father-and-son argument becomes a multi-panel debate whose captions can give both sides surprisingly detailed positions.
Is This a Pigeon?
A character points at a butterfly and asks whether it is a pigeon, creating a template for confident misidentification.
2019
Woman Yelling at a Cat
A reality-TV argument is paired with Smudge the cat’s dinner-table stare.
2020
Always Has Been
An astronaut discovers what the whole world really consists of.
2022
Emotional Damage
Steven He’s exclamation becomes the punctuation for a painful roast.
2024
Just a Chill Guy
A hands-in-pockets cartoon dog remains unbothered.