Somehow, we’re halfway through the year already. Here are our favourite memes for the first half of 2023.
Damn things are moving quickly; the months are flying by and so are the memes. It’s easy to forget some of the gems given the life-cycle of an average meme, so join us as we look back at some of our favourites from the first half of the year.
The Grimace Shake
@jacksdriscoll Happy Birthday Grimace!!!!😈#grimaceshake #happybirthdaygrimace ♬ Creepy and simple horror background music(1070744) - howlingindicator
While this may sound like a dance, the Grimace Shake is actually a limited-edition item from McDonalds. The internet, doing what it does best, has let its collective imagination run wild, twisting the Grimace Shake into something terrifying and otherworldly.
Pinegrove Shuffle
@paynefulhogue sometimes i really love being in the same time line as you beautiful people #pinegrove #pinegroveshuffle #need2 #people ♬ Need 2 - Pinegrove
Okay so this one actually is a dance. The Pinegrove Shuffle is what happens when the Corecore side of TikTok meets dance trend TikTok, combining the apathy and pessimism of the former with the accessibility and catchyness that creates the latter.
Let’s Play Mr/Miss fucked-up animal person
Choose your own adventure is a tried and tested format on TikTok, however things have recently taken a rather bizarre and macabre twist. These new games often feature an anthropomorphic figure you are, for some reason, always staying with and to survive your time with your host/captor you need to follow the rules set out at the beginning.
Baby Gronk
@h00pify Do you think Baby Gronk will lead LSU to a National Championship? #livvy #livvydunne #babygronk #rizz #rizzking #lsu #lsufootball #collegefootball #louisianastateuniversity #football #henrydetolla #h00pify #detolla ♬ Nfl Theme - Official Sports Bar Version - Playin' Buzzed
Man this one was a reaal fever dream. The whole Baby Gronk thing was a flash in the pan for sure, but it highlighted just how ridiculous internet culture can be, with the majority of people getting in on the meme by taking the piss out of the original guy.
Maxwell the cat
From a cute meme about a cat sitting on something it shouldn’t, to Garry’s Mod item, to viral TikTok sensation. This cat has done a world tour of the internet, even with a couple of different theme songs.
The jiggle jiggle skin
!!(caution headphone users)!!
@i_knocked_out_the_spot THE JIGGLE JIGGLE SKIN… is Spider-Gwen 👁️👁️🕷️🕸️ #spiderman #milesmorales #miguelohara #peterbparker #spidermanacrossthespiderverse #thejigglejiggleskin #capcut #trend ♬ Real - David
Of course Fortnite is the reason this exists. The audio is taken from a Fortnite streamer’s video uploaded to YouTube with Radiohead’s No Surprises spliced over the top. This format has been used to describe everything from the plot of Across the Spider-Verse to what it’s like having both autism and ADHD.
Half-life cats
Likely inspired by the video that started the Maxwell the Spinning Cat trend, there’s something that just tickles us about cat videos with Half-Life audio. Ah Freeman, good to see you. Have they got the beverage machine working?
Lunch of suffering
@girlwithadoge “White People Food Trend” #asian #chinese #whitepeople #yt #food #trend #whitepeoplefood #american #diet #china #omg #pov #makethisviral #storytime #foryou #fyp ♬ original sound - girlwithadoge
Whether it’s done to remind them of the joys of life or because it’s easy, there’s a trend sweeping China. Plain ham sandwiches. Carrots. Undressed salad. They’re calling us out with our “white people food” and they’re not wrong.
Shocked Miles Morales
Miles Morales when Kilometer Immorales walks in pic.twitter.com/If51cLNW6p
— Rafli Fazli (@raflizi26) June 5, 2023
One of the biggest releases of the year so far has done wonders for terminally online culture. This most notable example is this goofy, but insanely well drawn, blending of Miles Morales and content creator Jslutty.
AI voiced songs
@mememusic117 Marge - Down With The Sickness disturbed #marge #simpsons #aicover #fyp #margesinging ♬ original sound - MEME MUSIC
Generative AI has been at the forefront of our minds this year. It started with Dall-E making ridiculous images with too many hands and poorly aligned teeth. Now we have learning models that can put videos together or even simulate someone else’s voice.
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