These are the most outstanding memes of 2022

By Kalhan Rosenblatt and Daysia Tolentino -

Memes, for better or worse, were there for all the ups and downs of 2022. Sometimes they made us cringe.

Other times they helped us get through the chaotic year of news.

But more often than not, they kept people entertained.

This was a year in which TikTok once again proved its might as the birthplace of some of the most prolific memes, said Don Caldwell, editor-in-chief of the Know Your Meme database.

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“In the early days of TikTok, memes were focused on trends and dance trends… things that didn't necessarily match up with the memes you'd find on other platforms,” Caldwell said.

"This year has been different."

How?

Memes on the platform “got a lot weirder,” she said, citing Quandale Dingle — a meme about a fictional soccer player — as an example.

The most famous memes of 2022NBC News / Twitter;

Youtube;

HBO

But TikTok wasn't the only platform where memes—weird, random, or just plain funny—went viral.

They could also be found on Twitter and Instagram.

Here's NBC News' roundup of the 10 most notable memes of 2022.

10.'Dark

Brandon

'

The meme, which started on Twitter in early 2022, depicts President Joe Biden with laser eyes.

Or, as Know Your Meme describes it, a "daringer version" of the president.

It was inspired by the far-right slogan

(Vamos Brandon), a dig at the president.

At first it was used, mostly by conservatives, in a “very tongue-in-cheek” way, according to Know Your Meme, “with the memes mainly joking about Biden's perceived senility.”

However, it has evolved into an “appreciation of Joe Biden and the accomplishments of his Administration,” Know Your Meme claims.

By August, it had already been widely shared by Democrats, including Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

White House director of digital strategy Rob Flaherty even tweeted the meme that month.

9. 'She is/he ​​is a 10 but...'

It's been the year people have been given their true ranking, and the 'she's/he's a 10 but...' meme has been the internet's way of determining whether or not someone is fit for an appointment.

The trend originated on TikTok in May and gained traction on Twitter after several tweets went viral on June 18, according to Know Your Meme.

Rate imaginary lovers on a scale of 1-10 based on their attractiveness before presenting negative or positive traits that could affect your score.

8. 

'Honk shoo mimimi'

A man in a nightgown and a pointed cap.

The bedtime tea bear.

Getting some sleep was on many people's minds in 2022, as the meme derived from the sound of snoring in cartoons of yesteryear suggests.

['July without poop': the viral TikTok challenge that worries doctors]

The

and

started appearing in tweets in late 2021, but took off in 2022, with variations like being a

or

or putting

on your to-do list.

7. 'A negroni... sbagliato... with prosecco inside'

A viral video, posted to social media by HBO in late September, shows

actress Emma D'Arcy sharing her favorite cocktail in an interview with co-star Olivia Cooke.

D'Arcy's pronunciation of his favorite cocktail had people online swooning.

No other drink has made the internet so thirsty, perhaps to the detriment of bartenders the world over.

6. The 'Euphoria' meme: You better be kidding

Every year we get a few exploitable, or easily modifiable, memes that can be used in any reactive context.

[The video of a nurse goes viral and provokes criticism on the networks.

But her classmates think the reaction went too far]

This one from HBO's

, in which Maddie (Alexa Demie) criticizes Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) for her outfit, has been the perfect reply to the most ridiculous questions and scenarios on the internet.

The series, which first aired in June 2019, has been a hit for HBO.

Memes have only increased in popularity, some experts and viewers said this year.

5. 'Girl explaining'

The "girl explaining" meme began going viral in 2019 in Spanish-speaking circles, according to Know Your Meme.

The girl in the image is Denise

Sánchez, she revealed to Know Your Meme that her photo is of her and her ex-boyfriend in a club in Argentina.

The image looks as if Sanchez is yelling over the loud music from the club to say something to her ex-boyfriend, which is why people using the meme format wrote all caps.

[Five people face charges after viral video of daycare where children were scared with creepy mask]

Whether explaining what the Inflation Reduction Act is or why the Brooklyn Library is “fines free”, the loudest memes of 2022 were delivered via the “girl explaining”.

4. 'Homelander receives applause'

At the end of the third season of Amazon's

, the villainous superhero Homelander breaks character and shoots his laser eyes at a protester, killing him in front of a large crowd.

Homelander is shocked, but the crowd cheers and his horrified look turns into a victorious smile and laugh.

Homelander's reaction was cut out of context and made into a major meme reaction, usually to show that someone who expected a lot of negative reactions has gotten a surprisingly positive or neutral reaction.

[The viral video of a 'stray shark' that swam between flooded houses in Florida during Hurricane Ian]

The timing, as much of Homelander's character seems to be, is a nod to Donald Trump's famous 2016 campaign line that he could "stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and not "lose any voters." ”.

A true tribute to the spirit of the times, which has been translated into humor through memes like Homelander.

3. 'Morbius'/'It's time for Morbin'

In 2022, society learned that it was not actually Morbin's time.

, a critically criticized film starring Jared Leto,

was released in April .

Though not a box office success, the film's memes—as well as the “It's Morbin' time” sentiment—became so viral that Sony Pictures re-released it in a limited number of theaters in June.

But it failed again.

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Leto himself joined the meme.

In June, he posted a video of himself reading what appeared to be a fake script titled

.

But with the post came the unofficial death of the meme.

This time, perhaps, without the possibility of vampire resurrection.

2. 'It's corn!

Chances are you've heard at least one person in your life declare "It's corn!"

And it is that the child of the corn, a 7-year-old boy named Tariq, became one of the most viral memes of the year.

In an interview with the YouTube channel Recess Therapy, Tariq was asked about the ear of corn he was eating (or “big lump with knobs” as he described it).

Tariq's unbridled joy and youthful wonder at describing what many consider to be a mundane object captivated the internet.

“I really like corn,” Tariq says in the original video.

He later adds: "When I tried it with butter, everything changed!"

[A customer gave $3,000 to a waitress for the 'Tips for Jesus' viral challenge.

He now wants the money but the restaurant denies it]

In one of his most quoted lines, he says: “I mean, look at this thing.

I can't imagine anything more beautiful." 

The interview was turned into a song by the YouTube group Schmoyoho.

The video has been viewed more than 85 million times, and the audio has been used in 1.4 million posts on TikTok.

Tariq became a celebrity in his own right, even being named a South Dakota corn ambassador, or "corn-bassador."

1. 'My money doesn't wiggle, it wiggles, it folds'

A common theme this year has been that anything can become a bop.

Before "Corn Kid," a short video of documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux talking to Amelia Dimoldenberg on the web series "Chicken Shop Date" went viral and was turned into a song.

The clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in February, was remixed by TikTokers @dukeandjones and turned into a song.

The song centers on a part of the clip in which Dimoldenberg asks Theroux if he remembers a rap he wrote and performed on an episode of BBC 2's “Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends”.

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“My Money Don't Jiggle Jiggle, It Folds” has been viewed on the @dukeandjones TikTok account more than 80 million times and used in more than 6.5 million posts.

Becoming a viral sensation, the song became a dance trend, was used in animations, and was even shared by Dimoldenberg herself.

Theroux also appeared in a video with @dukeandjones dancing to the tune.