Being terminally online has its perks.

Time moves faster on social media.

And we’re not just saying that because, when you think you’ve only spent 10 minutes scrolling TikTok, it’s actually been three hours. In fact, information spreads faster on social media than on any other medium—which means memes from two months ago are basically ancient history.

IGNITE thinks that’s a shame—because some of those memes from two months (or more) ago were actually pretty good!

So, as we prepare to dive into a brand-new year, here are the memes that defined each month of 2021:

January

Meme of the month: Bernie Sanders wearing mittens

Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, arrived at Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ inauguration in a grey coat and mittens a school teacher gave him. And, he immediately stood out among the jewel-tone-clad crowd. So, the internet did what it does best: made memes out of it.

Fun fact: this is the second time Bernie’s grey coat has been immortalized through internet virality—it also appears in his “I am once again asking” campaign ad.

February

Meme of the month: The Weeknd’s Super Bowl performance

We’ve come to expect over-the-top performances from this Toronto-born musician. And, when he headlined the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show, he delivered just that. We got a set featuring his greatest hits, dancers covered in white face bandages, a “robot demon choir” and a meme of him looking lost in a yellow-lit house of mirrors to boot.

February honourable mention: cat filter lawyer

A lawyer in a Zoom hearing somehow turned on a filter that made him look like a cat; and he didn’t know how to turn it off.

You couldn’t write better meme fodder.

March

Meme of the month: Kathryn Hahn winking

Although the now-famous image of Agatha from WandaVision winking first appeared in the series’ second trailer, which premiered Dec. 10, 2020, it didn’t explode in the meme-o-sphere until around March. But, boy, are we glad it did.

March honourable mention: Oprah interviewing Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Turns out, a byproduct from a high-profile sit-down with one of television’s most legendary interviewers is…memes. Lots and lots of memes. Who would’ve guessed?

April

Meme of the month: you can be a different person after the pandemic

A New York Times piece about emerging from COVID-19 lockdowns had a title seemingly made for memes.

I think I’m gonna be Rachel McAdams. Idk, seems like it would be fun. How ’bout you guys?

May

Meme of the month: Cruella’s origin story

Disney’s Cruella movie dove into the 101 Dalmatians villain’s backstory. And, let’s just say it was…far-fetched?

June

Meme of the month: Anakin and Padmé

Every once in a while, a meme format with seemingly endless variations blesses the internet. This June, that format was four glorious frames from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

July

Meme of the month: the beach that makes you old

The premise of M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film is incredibly straightforward—and incredibly meme-able: there is a beach that makes you old.

August

Meme of the month: milk crate challenge

Like with most viral internet phenomena these days, TikTok is largely responsible for spreading this one. But don’t go looking for videos of it on the platform anymore—because it banned all related content in late August.

Why? Well, in orthopedic surgeon Shawn Anthony’s words, “It’s perhaps even worse than falling from a ladder. It’s very difficult to brace yourself from the falls I’ve seen in these videos. They’re putting their joints at an even higher risk for injury.”

Although this isn’t the first time a dangerous challenge has dominated our feeds (remember Tide pods?), it posed an even greater public health threat—since injuries resulting from the challenge put greater stress on hospitals already overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

So, in short: don’t try this at home.

September

Meme of the month: Mary Jane defending

Yet another meme format you can do just about anything with.

Oh, and the “she” in question in the meme above also said lots of other things (to IGNITE!)

September honourable mention: Ben Platt crying

The film adaptation of Tony-award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen was the subject of much criticism—and many, many memes.

Ben Platt, you’re a good actor. Truly! But, with love, this level of melodrama is better suited to the stage.

October

Meme of the month: red flags

It’s simple, really: people took to their feeds to air out their biggest dating deal-breakers.

Although, The Brands™️ got ahold of this one quickly.

November

Meme(s) of the month: Adele and Taylor Swift

We can’t decide which is luckier: two of music’s biggest names dropping albums only a week apart, or all the memes we got out of them.

(OK, also, Taylor Swift totally should’ve done something with the red flag meme. Because, like, it’s too perfect. Right?)

November honourable mention: yassification

We won’t be explaining this one further—partially because it doesn’t need it; and partially because we don’t know how.

Second November honourable mention: two guys on a bus

Our contribution:

  • Guy on the left: tries to make it through college or university entirely on their own
  • Guy on the right: takes advantage of IGNITE’s services to make every day as a student a little brighter 😉

(Also, side note: November was a huge month for memes, huh?)

December

Meme of the month: pull up in the Sri Lanka

On Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, Dr. Wendy Osefo of The Real Housewives of Potomac appeared on The Wendy Williams Show alongside guest host Michael Rapaport.

During the segment, Rapaport asked Osefo if she’s a Nicki Minaj fan. Osefo replied, “What? Am I a Nicki fan?” as if to say, “Isn’t it obvious I’m a Nicki Minaj fan?” Osefo then attempted to prove she’s a barb by reciting Minaj’s verse in Kanye West’s song Monster, which begins:

“Pull up in the monster, automobile gangsta, with a bad b**** that came from Sri Lanka.”

However, what Osefo actually said was:

In early December, fans of other music artists began using the sound bite to demonstrate allegiance to their own fandoms—and find creative ways to flub up lyrics in the process.

December honourable mention: you want me to x? The thing that y?

You know how, sometimes, you just want to whine? Like, life is hard—and you know how to solve your problems—but it feels better to complain?

We think this is the meme version of that.

Thanks for the laughs, 2021. We can’t wait to see what memes 2022 has in store.

Practice safe meme-ing with these cybersecurity tips every student should know.

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