What is the History of Memes?
Video Overview & Insights
Join us as we take a journey through meme history, travel through the different distinct eras of memedom, and find our way back to modern meme times.
Go to horny jail is my all time fav
The names and specific eras I gave meme history are, of course, up for debate. These eras were compiled through hours of research through common meme eras on the internet and I tried to combine everything into this high-level video. If you disagree or have other thoughts, let me know in the comments.
00:00 - Intro
21 is my favorite meme🎉🎉
00:32 - Brief meme history
01:00 - First memes
I would argue that the stratification of memes always exists, the problem looking back is that we only remember the most mainstream and successful memes. All of the equivalent of modern deep fried memes just faded from memory unless you go to obscure sites and and deep dive into archives.
01:07 - The Beginning Period (1921-1999)
02:21 - The Experimental Period (2000-2004)
My favorite meme is pingas.
03:28 - The Evolutionary Period (2005-2011)
05:57 - The Transitionary Period (2012-2014)
Watched this with my son. Had to stop it at 2017 to show him the "he protec, he attac" meme I made of him the night he was born in 2017 lol
07:08 - The Cultural Explosion Period (2015-Present)
07:37 - Modern Types of Memes (Normie/Dank/Deep Fried)
We have gone through the brain rot era. And now the great meme reset of 26.
08:29 - The Cultural Explosion Continued
09:20 - Conclusion
My favourite meme is ‘Ackchyually’.
Media:
A huge shoutout to all the memers who create content every day to make videos like this possible. All memes are used in the context of fair use, please reach out if you'd like a specific credit added to the video :)
When I was a kid, I enjoyed the meme "Charlie bit me." That video was so nostalgic that it's bringing me great memories. I can see why that video on YouTube went viral.
Special shoutout to Reddit user "Never Forget Papa Franku" who made an amazing timeline of meme history here: https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/o7x2fx/the_history_of_memes_oc/
Another huge shoutout to Jianna Beasley for the meme timeline she made: https://jfkclarion.com/2018/04/04/memeology/
If you really really dig deep you'll eventually realized the origin of meme came from Asia specifically China way way back before the conception of the internet and computers or even America. Here's a hint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pYS0pkCElU
More hints: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lDpGkIzZBJg
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Music:
[1] A Fool's Theme
Bring back man-made memes
[2] Yonder Hill and Dale
[3] Earth Appears
Memes have deteriorated so much in the span of just a few years. Crazy
[4] Epic Unease by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100406
Josh Hutcherson
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
[5] Sunrise Over Big Data Country
Rickroll
[6] Magenta
[7] Fresh Healthy Perspectives
2018 memes were the golden era
[8] Impact Prelude by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100617
Doge and Rick Roll are the most invincible memes
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
[9] Strange Stuff
Brain rot is definitely a new meme era
More User Perspectives
The monkies in 10 million years ago create a song it's "hoo hoo heo heo"
@B33th03nWe need a 2025 update
@ElfieSchmooI think skibidi toilet / rizzler song spawned another era
@cumradej0:28 floppa.
@kareninamedinaDANCING TRIANGEL!!!!
@KantoC63Do you know
The way
You forgot about sound meme
@chibuikemuosanya7106Hello. My name is Toby J. Little and I am a professional in the field of memes, and possess the equivalent to an Ivy League college degree in the history and distribution and industry of memes and mematics with over 40 years of experience in this field. This is a very accurate summary of the long history of memes, so I would like to compliment you, as this is an almost entirely accurate depiction of all memes.
@sbell3004Imagine skipping over the MLG-era
@UltriLeginaXII like how he turned the whole video into a meme 😂
@ashtaghavi7429Bro over 9000 was before 2005 I was typing that in wc3
@heavyflamerheresy2581whats with the dogebonk stuff?
@happyhapslyEnd of the world! (Flash animation)
@RyanPatonAll your base are belong to us!
@RyanPatonBadger badger badger mushroom mushroom snake snake ohhh a snake!
🦡🍄🐍
What the HELLlLLlLL
@vuonghuutai9563Gegadigadago I been marry along time ago where did you come from where did you go where did you come from cotton eye Joe🍗🍗
@FatimaBegumKoliwhere is the legendary MLG
@OneProductionsDnBFavorite Meme: Tenge Tenge
@GamingWithNico386It’s over Anakin, I have the high ground!
@artanmcmanusfloppa
@Robloxnoob-km9piDoge
@ansonallseitz1776The first time I read about memes was in 07. The material discussed of Christianity was a meme.
@Shazbot3Kilroy was 100% a meme as we know it to date. It was the "spare some sugar?" guy and it spread in the EXACT same way as every other meme, only without the internet. I wish you went more into detail about that one in particular. That was the most clear-cut and well-documented example of an early meme that I didn't even know was a meme.
@YoUtUbEhAnDlEsArEgReAtQuandale dingle widely shaped modern meme culture from
2022-Present
Homie likes feet I bet soembody has it time stamped
@sninjabeast68Annoying orange fry day is the best meme
@dingus_Techi feel like we're already in a new era since 2021. tiktok memes kinda feel like vine memes with less effort. like you can just put on a blanket over your head and act like a girl whilst filming yourself in two different angles. you also don't hear people talk in those videos a lot, rather various trending songs. it's definitely different, oh and not to mention very sporadic. memes like smurf cat or josh hutcherson seem to get really popular and die in a month or so. the only meme format i haven't really seen fall off the mainstream is lolcats which are still exceptionally popular today
@puzzlepuddles6712Here in 2023-2024 id like to give an update. We have evolved past deep fried to Brainrot. There is actually no meaning to these memes and it is now probably harmful to look at them. I’d call it the de-evolution era and I want to say the meme “E” started it all.
@matthewmaurer3212ඞ
@ab129131Babe you gotta stop!
@beckys.8897The new age of memes will evolve from the loss of original context over time. People born now in 2024 will not experience the full context of meme history. Mainstream memes with huge impacts predate their existence. Right now it seems to be one, maybe two generations who dominate the creation and spreading of memes(Gen Z and Millennials) but that torch will be passed. Maybe current teens have missed out on top text bottom text and rage comics, but someday soon teens won’t know things came from vine or that text post they’re sharing is actually from 2012. I also think less people create memes now, more just share. I just hope AI memes don’t get popular. I like humans creating them.
@InktronFor some reason i grt a feeling that just SOMETHING is gonna happen in 2026 i THINK I MAKE NO PROMISES
@jakethegreat7775Skibidi toilet
@jeremybrown1598