2022 As Told By The Year’s 18 Best Memes
Let’s just say it: 2022 was the longest, shortest year of all time. No tenemos pruebas, pero tampoco dudas.
While New Year’s Eve 2021 feels like it was a cough and a sneeze away (for us who got Omicron, literally), the first half of 2022 feels like it happened in ancient times. January memes? They might as well have happened in the 1800s. There must be something in the zodiac… A.K.A. we wish we could consult Walter Mercado right about now.
Whatever your 2022 was like, and let’s say it was pretty stressful for a lot of us, good memes got us through. The CDC says laughter is the best medicine (ha), and memes gave us joy — even when student loan forgiveness became a question mark again. Yup, un arroz con mango.
You might think you’re dreaming (or maybe in the very 2022 metaverse) when you see half of the memes we compiled. How did all of these happen this year? While we’re still trying to make it make sense, get ready to laugh about 2022’s best memes all over again.
1. Elmo and Rocko
First up, the start of January hit hard when it came to memes — at least when “Sesame Street” characters were concerned. Who else remembers Elmo vs. Rocko being 2022’s biggest beef? “Rocko’s not alive!” will echo in our brains forever, and we still can’t stop laughing at all the epic memes. Was Zoe the O.G. gaslighter?
2. What Happened To Him?
Next, tons of the “what happened to him” memes also came out around January, which show two people carrying a stretcher. The answer is always something non-life-threatening and therefore hilarious— like “He ate without watching something.” We relate a bit too much to this one!
3. T For Troy?
There’s one thing that seems to unite all memes— just a hint of absurdity. 2022 brought this “High School Musical” meme center stage, focusing on the scene Troy gives Gabriella a “T” necklace. T for Troy, you may ask? Nope, “T for te quiero ride como a mi bike,” the lyrics for Rosalia’s song “HENTAI.”
4. Megan Fox And Machine Gun Kelly Proposal
Machine Gun Kelly proposing to Megan Fox was pretty adorable in a very intense, maybe-drink-eachother’s-blood kind of way. That being said, the memes might have been even funnier (sorry not sorry!). Fans quickly gave the singer flak for his striped shirt, comparing it to the Foot Locker employee uniform. The internet wins yet again.
5. All The “Euphoria” Memes
On another note, “Euphoria” memes no doubt go us through 2022. If you were hooked to the HBO show’s season two this year, then you may have felt like you were a student at East Highland High School yourself. The outfits were so fabulous, people couldn’t stop meme-ifying them. Were the students too fashionable to go to English class? Probably. Do we still want to recreate every outfit? They sort of remind us of our favorite Bratz dolls… so yes.
6. “Hey, It’s Che Diaz”
Who else saw the twisted, amazing, meme-able “Sex and the City” reboot “And Just Like That”? You may have thought it was a trainwreck, you may have laughed along, but you definitely were shocked by that first episode. No matter what, we can’t forget all those hilarious “Hey, it’s Che Diaz” memes— even though we have to say justice for Sara Ramirez!
7. Nepotism Babies
Another meme trend that 2022 gave us still makes us crack up (even 10 months later). The term nepotism babies began to trend more than ever, defined as celebrities with very-famous parents. People soon turned the phrase into an ironic meme, poking fun at “nepotism babies” like the late Queen Elizabeth and the fictional Luke Skywalker. Infuriating.
8. Gas Prices
Who else remembers all the “gas prices got me like…” memes that hit around March? It’s no secret gas prices were at an all-time high around that time, but at least we got good memes out of it? Yeah, we were actually considering riding horseback to our jobs. Later in August, we found out about this very fast beach chair option:
9. Will Smith Slap
It was the slap heard around the world. As you surely remember very well, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars this year. While many were on Smith’s side for defending his wife Jada Pinkett Smith against jokes about her alopecia, others were not. Whatever side you were on, there’s no doubt the memes were freaking hilarious. And yes, that includes a texting Andrew Garfield as “Spiderman-slash-Gossip Girl.”
10. Bad Bunny Memes
Bad Bunny’s album “Un Verano Sin Ti” was groundbreaking, life-changing, mood-lifting… it was a Latino cultural moment (yup, we’re fans!). The album’s May 6th release date brought upon several memes about El Conejo Malo’s pure genius, but this one never fails to crack us up. Long live the “ye ye ye ye ye ye.”
11. Kim Kardashian’s “Get Your F***ing A** Up And Work”
Kim Kardashian made headlines in June when a pretty polarizing video by Variety came out. In the video, Kardashian gives a piece of business advice: “Get your f***ing a** up and work.” Thanks, Kim! Of course, the internet had a field day with the memes. The best? This one contrasting Kim K’s advice with Beyonce’s “release your mind, release your job” anthem “BREAK MY SOUL.” Queen Bey forever!
12. American Girl Doll
Mid-summer brought upon another meme that certainly wasn’t on our 2022 bingo card: the American Girl doll meme. Who knows where this started? We might not, but we sure know it made us laugh. You know what, we do need an American Girl doll that drinks Diet Coke at 8 A.M. like an adult. And that American Girl NPR intern is us.
13. Girl Explaining
Actually, scratch that— this is us. The “girl explaining” meme rose to prominence around the middle of the year, just as summer festivals were winding down. Showing a young woman talking about a very intense subject to a guy who doesn’t seem as interested in the convo, all we have to say is… we’ve been there. Jack didn’t climb up onto the floating door in “Titanic” because it would have sank— and we’ll yell it from the rooftops, too!
14. Adam Levine Leaked DM’s
A very 2022 aspect of 2022 was none other than Adam Levine’s alleged cheating scandal. The married father of two’s name was on everyone’s lips around September, and it wasn’t for a new album. TikTok user Sumner Stroh came forward saying she had a year-long affair with the singer, claiming he even wanted to name his unborn child with wife Behati Prinsloo after Stroh. Eek. Later, more women alleged Levine had also sexted over DM’s, and some of the best memes of all time were born. All that chisme in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, too!
15. Spirit Halloween Costumes
While late October is usually referred for all the creepy, eerie, ghoulish content we could ever want (and “Hocus Pocus” reruns of course), it also brought upon a great meme. The Spirit Halloween costume meme was born, which poked fun at just about everything you could think of. Take the “30 minute phone call” costume that could have been an email– otherwise known as our worst nightmare!
16. Pete Davidson Dating
Okay, okay, so by now we know that Pete Davidson has dated just about every goddess living on the planet. Currently linked to Emily Ratajkowski after calling it quits with Kim Kardashian, it seems like the internet had enough— and Davidson had to be meme-ified. Davidson has since been spotted with cool-girl Hetty the Hoover… and Mama Lucha from Bodega Aurrerá.
17. They’re A 10 But…
The “they’re a 10 but…” meme format took over social media this year, whether talking hilarious TikTok videos, or memes on Twitter and IG. Does anyone realize how good crab rangoon is? Eating all our crab rangoon demotes anyone to probably around a 7. We said what we said!
18. The CDC Says
Last but certainly not least, the end of the year brought about the very-ubiquitous “the CDC says” meme. After a confusing year that had us running around in circles, people had enough— and decided to joke about it. The CDC now says Tootsie Pops are good indicators of quarantine time, when you should text el tóxico, and what constitutes a balanced breakfast.
