Here Are The 12 Most Important Memes Of 2016

It's the 12 months of meme-mas.

The year of 2016 has seen MANY memes come and go.

Michelle Rennex / BuzzFeed

Despite the amount of memes we've been blessed with, there have been 12 (well 13) standouts that have really defined the year.

January: Bernie or Hillary

http://obviousplant.com/post/138227198008/bernie-or-hillary-left-on-the-streets-of-los

https://twitter.com/nrrrdcore/status/693851836038549506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Before we felt the hard burn of Bernie dropping out, the Bernie or Hillary memes were all the rage in January. The fake posters started on Tumblr before spreading onto Twitter, where people made their own versions poking fun at the two candidates.

February: Damn Daniel

https://twitter.com/Four_Pins/status/700032783834546176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/DannyJPA/status/700666183352061953

While Damn Daniel feels like it happened about six years ago, it really only happened in February. But as fast as our beloved Daniel came onto the scene, he was gone. After a spot on Ellen, a year's supply of Vans, and a short but sweet run as a nice, wholesome meme, Damn Daniel fizzled out into nothing but a beautiful memory.

March: Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer

https://twitter.com/Yolo_Tengo/status/703008690874372096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

http://tedcruz-zodiackiller.tumblr.com/post/140350863324

March was the month when the internet accused presidential candidate Ted Cruz of being the Zodiac Killer, a serial murderer from the '60s and '70s. While the accusation didn't really make any sense, and the meme didn't last for too long, the Zodiac Killer is still at large, so you make the call.

April: Confused Mr. Krabs

@lilcoochievert / Via Twitter: @lilcoochievert

While Mr. Krabs has literally been a point of interest for years, searches for the money-hungry crab spiked in April. The crazily accurate meme still floats around a bit, but now people use the blur effect on images of all kinds.

May: Dat Boi

https://twitter.com/samanthaIRL/status/739239318070300672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/memeprovider/status/737843165655273472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Dat Boi muttered "o shit waddup!!" first in April on Tumblr, before cycling out into more mainstream social media. Peak Google searches for Dat Boi were in May, which was when a bunch of memes about the animated frog riding a unicycle popped up all over Instagram and Twitter.

June: Caveman SpongeBob/SpongeGar

@CavemansSponge / Via Twitter: @CavemansSponge

Of course, the year couldn't feature Mr. Krabs without SpongeBob himself, so the stars aligned and June became the month of Caveman SpongeBob. Memes featuring SpongeGar were simple — they just involved dropping him in common awkward or unfortunate situations that people often find themselves in.

July: Harambe (The Gorilla Who Died)

https://twitter.com/arnottky/status/756840307581448192

https://twitter.com/lmScampi/status/760904567550832640

If you don’t know who Harambe is you mustn't have had access to the internet, or been on Earth in 2016. After Harambe's demise, Google searches for him had spiked a little, but it wasn’t really until July that interest steadily increased. With this increased interest came an influx of memes, merch, and even a bunch of election votes.

August: Arthur's clenched fist

@djvogue / Via Twitter: @djvogue

It's safe to say that Arthur's fist was one of the most prevalent memes of the past year. First popping up in late July, the most searches for the lovable aardvark's hand peaked in August, when many Arthur fist memes dominated all social media feeds.

September: Name a more iconic duo

@flacko_jordye / Via Twitter: @flacko_jordye

There are two types of people in this world: people who love Kendall and Kylie, and those who love to hate Kendall and Kylie, which is why this meme was so successful. Someone asked Twitter to name a more iconic duo than the Jenner pair, and as expected, Twitter delivered time and time again.

October: Bone app the teeth

https://twitter.com/sevendeadlyexes/status/801461974185967617

https://twitter.com/sevendeadlyexes/status/801461974185967617

Bone app the teeth is the umbrella term for all the memes that fail to correctly spell "bon appétit." It all started with someone's attempt at making "cornbread" and from there it just escalated to ridiculous heights. Sure, it sounds really dumb, but honestly most memes are.

November: Biden and Obama/Evil Kermit

https://twitter.com/hansmollman/status/796695644744404992

https://twitter.com/RiceBag94/status/796866281991532544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

November was easily the month of some of the year's most loved memes: Biden and Obama, and Evil Kermit. It’s impossible to decide which meme should take the top spot in November, as both have had such positive reactions and were the most searched memes of the month.

December: Me at the beginning vs. me at the end of 2016

@luftboca / Via Twitter: @luftboca

Naturally the biggest meme of December 2016 was “me at the beginning of 2016 vs me at the end of 2016”. The concept for the meme was simple. To find photos of someone (or something) looking good in the first, and looking absolutely trashed in the second, to show just how much of a hot pile of flaming shit the past year has been.

For more Best Of 2016 content, click here.