They say art is how we express ourselves. Art is one of the many ways that we communicate with one another. In the modern era of the internet, memes have quickly become the way that communication occurs. Someone has a thought or feeling they wish to express, they put it on a meme, soon it goes viral. People all over the world are suddenly finding themselves either agreeing or disagreeing with the artist’s vision.
Among some of the memes that show up, there are some great ones and some bad ones, and some that are just gems. There are some memes that have become so viral that no matter how the words of the meme change, the thoughts and feelings are the same. The original creator of the meme has now seen countless thousands of people replicate their original meme with their own thoughts and feelings, and their masterpiece spreads.
After scouring the internet, we’ve collected some of the best, most timeless memes of all time for your consideration, so sit back, enjoy, and remember… I don’t always re-share a meme, but when I do, it is hilarious.
The Adventurer
A commercial series run rampant, this meme focuses on a long marketing theme by Dos Equis in which the main character goes on a series of adventures. At the end of the commercial spots he always closes with: “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, it’s gotta be Dos Equis.” The meme world has blown up with a near unlimited number of memes featuring their main character and the formatting of the meme is always the same. They all read: “I’m not (or I do not) and then a statement, followed by a caveat that allows for the rare circumstance that breaks their rule. As one of the more long-standing and instantly recognizable memes in the world, this one definitely deserves its spot in the best memes of all time.
The Philosoraptor
Designed to be a fun play on words, the Philosoraptor memes are designed to provoke thoughts that the user considers to be outside the box or “punny.” Loosely based on Jurassic Park’s velociraptor characters, the meme is often used to generate a thought along the lines of: “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise?” Our personal favorite Philosoraptor meme has to be: “if the key to happiness is bacon, and money buys bacon, does money actually buy happiness?” That’s right, everything comes back to bacon.
Willy Wonka and the Condescension Factory
Ah yes, good old Willie Wonka. Played by Gene Wilder in the original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka always had an air about him that he was the only one in the room who knew everything that was going on. This was of course true as his spy had approached all of the kids about their Everlasting Gobstoppers as a part of Wonka’s plan to turn his factory over to one of the children with the golden tickets. This screenshot from the movie captures Wilder’s air perfectly and has spawned any number of memes along the lines of: “So you post your problems on Facebook? Tell me how that solved them all for you.” In the vein of perfect sarcasm and condescension, there is no meme more popular than Willie Wonka.
That’s Gotta Be Awkward… Penguin…
Ah yes, the perfect way to describe any potentially awkward encounter is by utilizing one of the most awkward members of the animal kingdom. While cute, it is hard to argue that the penguin waddle is among the more graceful movements one will ever see in the wild. Much more graceful in the water than on land, this meme is the king of describing those situations. Whether the top of the meme reads: “prepares dozens of conversations to have with his crush” or “start telling joke,” you always know the bottom will have that cringeworthy moment that makes you feel bad for the author like: “too terrified to say a word” or “forgets the punchline.” It makes you cringe, but hey, we’ve all been there and what better way to share our embarrassment and awkwardness than with a cute penguin meme to millions of internet readers.
Sean Bean – King of the Meme
Whether as Boromir or that guy from Game of Thrones, Sean Bean wraps up our list with two of the greatest memes on the internet. Whether he is trying to explain how difficult something really is, or encouraging you to brace yourself for some oncoming disaster, Bean conveys some of the most dire messages the internet has ever seen. What makes some of Sean’s memes hilarious is the tendency for meme creators to poke fun at other Bean movies. For example – in one such meme Boromir tells readers that one does not simply steal the Declaration of Independence… but wait… Nicholas Cage did in… a Sean Bean movie. These are classics and full of inside jokes and often some of the best memes you will find on the internet.
Anyway, these are 5 of the top memes (6 or 7 if you count *all* of the popular Sean Bean memes scattered across the internet) you are likely to find. They are used and reused for a reason – they express a thought, emotion, or joke arguably better than any other background image you’re likely to find. Who knows, the next meme on this list could be yours!
