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Meme Database

Moo Deng

Contemporary Meme Culture

Video Meme

Facebook / TikTok

moo deng, pygmy hippo, thailand, zoo, baby animal, bouncy pork, viral animal

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A woman mid-sentence during a street interview, gesturing dramatically as she says the phrase “hawk tuah,” captured in a freeze-frame that became a viral meme.

Hawk Tuah

Contemporary Meme Culture

Video Meme

TikTok / YouTube

hawk tuah, haliey welch, tim and dee tv, viral interview, southern accent, onomatopoeia

The "Hawk Tuah" meme originated from a viral street interview clip in mid-2024 where a woman exaggeratedly described how to “make a man go crazy,” punctuated by a loud, spit-sound phrase — “hawk tuah!” — that quickly became an absurdist catchphrase online.

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SpongeBob bent over with a mocking expression

Mocking SpongeBob

Mobile & Social Media Era

Image Macro

Twitter

spongebob, mocking, chicken, alternating caps, spongemock, little yellow book

A screenshot of SpongeBob in a mocking pose was used with alternating caps text to convey sarcasm.

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A green frog with various expressions, often used to convey emotions like sadness or smugness.

Pepe the Frog

Golden Age of Memes

Image Macro

4chan

pepe, frog, feels good man, feels bad man, matt furie, boys club, rare pepe

Pepe the Frog evolved from a comic character to a widely used internet meme.

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Two images of Drake: one rejecting and one approving.

Drakeposting

Mobile & Social Media Era

Image Macro

4chan

drake, pointing, hotline bling, preference, approval, rejection, meme template

The meme format originated from Drake's 2015 "Hotline Bling" music video and became popular on 4chan and Reddit.

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Keanu Reeves sitting on a bench looking down while holding a sandwich

Sad Keanu

Golden Age of Memes

Reaction Image

Reddit, 4chan, Tumblr

keanu reeves, photoshop meme, reaction image, celebrity, paparazzi, sandwich, exploitable

A paparazzi photo of Keanu Reeves looking dejected on a bench sparked a wave of empathetic and humorous photoshops.

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Crude human characters with random or goofy expressions

Derp / Derpina

Goldent Age of Memes

Reaction Image

Reddit, 4chan, Rage Comics

derp, derpina, herp derp, rage comics, placeholder, stupidity, internet slang, south park

Derp and "Derpina" are placeholders used in rage comics for generic people, especially in dumb situations.

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Collage of brooding male characters with the caption "He's literally me."

He’s Literally Me

Contemporary Meme Culture

Image Macro

Facebook, Tumblr, TikTok, Twitter

literally me, ryan gosling, sigma male, doomer, drive, blade runner 2049, masculinity, identification

Emerged around 2020 as a way to express identification with complex media characters.

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Single-panel cartoon with surreal animals or awkward humans and ironic captions

The Far Side Cartoons

Pre-Internet / Proto-History

Text Meme

Newspapers, Office Photocopying, Book Collections

single-panel, surreal humor, absurdist, proto-meme, gary larson, newspaper comics, office culture

A comic panel series of surreal, often scientific or absurd humor that defined oddball wit in the 1980s.

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Hand-lettered protest signs and slogans on shirts and buttons

Make Love, Not War

Pre-Internet / Proto-History

Text Meme

Protest Signs, Buttons, Bumper Stickers

anti-war, vietnam war, hippie movement, counterculture, free love, protest slogan

A hallmark anti-war slogan from the 1960s that became a universal peace message.

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