Gallery: From Grumpy Cat to Gangnam Style: The Best Memes of 2012
01mckayla-is-not-impressed-2
Thanks in large part to the political theater of the presidential election, news and memes were pretty much the same thing in 2012. The news made the web, the web made the memes, and the memes made the news. Out of the election cycle – and politics broadly – we got [Binders Full of Women](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/binders-full-of-women), [Nate Silver Facts](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/nate-silver-drunk-nate-silver), and [Texts From Hillary](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/texts-from-hillary), while the Olympics gave us [McKayla Is Not Impressed](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mckayla-is-not-impressed) (also, honorable mention: [Olympics or Gay Porn?](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/olympics-or-gay-porn)). Pop music also had a good year with both Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" and Psy's "Gangnam Style" blowing up Tumblr *and* YouTube. And let's not forget there were also guys with mohawks who worked at NASA and, naturally, cats. But what memes ultimately proved the most entertaining – or at least the most impossible to escape? Here are the top 10 we think ruled the web in 2012. __Above:__ McKayla Is Not Impressed – The Best Thing to Come Out of the Olympics Since Wall-to-Wall Opening Ceremonies Coverage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's be clear about one thing first: We were just as disappointed as McKayla Maroney was that she didn't take home the gold medal in the vault (or at least pretty bummed). BUT if this is the consolation prize, we'll take it. The [Photoshop meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mckayla-is-not-impressed) of McKayla not being impressed with Kanye West or moon landings was great, but when it turned to Maroney herself in the Oval Office doing the disappointed face with President Obama? *That* was pure gold. *Photo: Pete Souza/[White House](http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/8191317327/sizes/l/in/photostream/)*
02binders-full-of-women
Slip of the Tongue: Romney's 'Binders Full of Women' ---------------------------------------------------- Poor Mitt Romney. Even before he lost the presidential election he lost his battle with foot-in-mouth syndrome. From threatening to fire Big Bird to his now-infamous gaffe about "[binders full of women](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/10/romney-binders-full-of-women-meme/)," he couldn't catch a break during his run for president. But what Romney giveth, the internet taketh and run: His blunders launched hours of fun on Tumblr – some of which remixed already-existent memes like Texts From Hillary (above) – and gave women everywhere a great [last-minute Halloween costume](http://bindersfullofwomen.tumblr.com/post/35156677660). Thanks, bro. *Image via [Binders Full of Women](http://bindersfullofwomen.tumblr.com/post/33779466057/no-one-puts-hillary-in-a-binder-she-works-for)*
03call-me-maybe-3
Everyone Else Is Doing It: "Call Me Maybe" ------------------------------------------ A lot of people love Carly Rae Jepsen's "[Call Me Maybe](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/call-me-maybe)." Quite a few people [hate it](http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/5/1/call-me-maybe-musical-herpes/). Some started out liking it and then fell into a pit of despair after hearing it *every freaking where*. But that's how memes work. They're really fun, until everyone throws in their contribution. After Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and company did their lip-sync of Jepsen's hit (above), almost everyone got on board: Katy Perry, the U.S. Olympic swimming team, Barack Obama ([sorta](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hX1YVzdnpEc)). But that's also how memes work. Their vibes are infectious.
04mohawk-guy
NASA Having a Mohawk Guy Becomes Bigger Deal Than Landing on Freaking Mars -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bobak Ferdowsi [likes having cool hair](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/08/meet-the-meme-mohawk-guy/). This should not be news, except that he also happens to like landing rovers on Mars and people tend to have preconceived notions about dudes who work at NASA. The activity lead for the Curiosity mission, Ferdowsi became everyone's geek best friend/boyfriend as they nervously watched to see if the rover would [land safely on the Red Planet](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/curiosity-lands/). Pretty much by the time he was done celebrating, Bobak was an internet sensation with [a Tumblr dedicated](http://fuckyeahbobakferdowsi.tumblr.com/) to his punk nerdery. And from the concept "Mohawk Guy" sprung more meme images than there are stars in the sky (give or take). *Image [via 9gag](http://9gag.com/gag/4960372)*
05eastwooding
Ode to an Empty Chair: Eastwooding ----------------------------------- During the Republican National Convention all-around tough guy and director Clint Eastwood addressed an empty stool as if it were President Obama. No one really knew what was going on. It was a little confusing. Anyway, in the hours and days that followed, people would post photos of empty chairs full of [Invisible Obamas](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/clint-eastwoods-empty-chair-speech-eastwooding-invisible-obama) and scorned them for kicks. It doesn't really *sound* fun, we know, but in the general nervousness that was the presidential election cycle, really weird stuff got laughs. You kind of had to be there. *Image via [Know Your Meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/388138-clint-eastwoods-empty-chair-speech-eastwooding-invisible-obama)*
06ecce-homo
There, I Fixed It! I Just *Ecce Homo*'d It. ------------------------------------------- Ok, so this one is legitimately sad. A nice old lady in Spain just wanted to [try to restore](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/botched-ecce-homo-painting) a painting of Jesus known as *Ecce Homo*. It didn't turn out so well, which is to say the image of Christ ended up looking like a potato. Everybody got a good chuckle and began putting that little potato head on everything, including – funnily enough – the Last Supper. *Image via [Know Your Meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/382595-botched-ecce-homo-painting)*
07gangnam-style
That Dance Everyone Started Doing at Weddings: 'Gangnam Style' --------------------------------------------------------------- Propelled by the most ridiculous (and ridiculously great) music video in recent memory, Korea's Psy pretty much got everyone to recognize "Gangnam Style." The video now has nearly one billion views – those are McDonald's numbers, people! – and is the [most watched clip](http://youtube-trends.blogspot.com/2012/11/psy-passes-bieber-gangnam-style.html) on YouTube ever. That weird little horse-riding dance that Psy does has also become the random thing people try to do when drunk – for better or worse.
08grumpy-cat
*Grumpy Old Men* Gets a Feline Mascot -------------------------------------- It wouldn't be a year in memes if there wasn't at least one cat. There were quite a few this year – Lil B's cat Keke [launched a rap career](http://m.buzzfeed.com/catesish/words-cannot-describe-how-glorious-this-song-is), after all – but Grumpy Cat was the cutest. Big saucer blue eyes and a permanent scowl, he was the internet in cat form – looking pissed off but probably actually kind of cute and friendly if you spend enough time with it. Grumpy Cat (real name: Tard) first got recognition on reddit, but soon spread everywhere. BuzzFeed even [threw him a party](http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/grumpy-cat-has-the-worst-monday-ever). Not that that cheered him up. *Image via [Know Your Meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/406334)*
09nate-silver
Nate Silver Goes All Chuck Norris, Gets Drunk --------------------------------------------- Nate Silver – the god of election statistics for *The New York Times* (that's his title, right?) – became every nerd's hero after he used math to accurately predict the outcome of the 2012 election. Almost immediately he was rewarded on Twitter with [Nate Silver Facts](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/11/nate-silver-facts-election/) about his super-human powers. But almost as soon as that trend died, the online world began to speculate what Silver would do next. The answer was, naturally, get drunk. And thus [Drunk Nate Silver](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/11/drunk-nate-silver/) was born. Nerds have never rallied around One of Us so marvelously. *Screengrab: Wired*
10texts-from-hillary-2
Hey Girl, It's Hillz. Everyone Wants to Get Texts From Hillary --------------------------------------------------------------- It only lasted, like, a week. But man, the month during which everyone wanted to make Texts From Hillary (Clinton) was awesome. After news photographers captured what should've been a non-moment of Secretary of State Clinton checking her phone, friends Stacy Lambe and Adam Smith started a little Tumblr about what it was that she could've been texting about. Suddenly everyone wanted to chime in. Sadly, Lambe and Scott [stopped updating the Tumblr](http://textsfromhillaryclinton.tumblr.com/post/20911542516/ttyl) after only a few days, but the meme continued. If only in our hearts. *Image via [Texts from Hillary](http://textsfromhillaryclinton.tumblr.com/post/20651224954/original-image-by-diana-walker-for-time)*
11horses-and-bayonets
Obama Notes Military's Lack of Horses and Bayonets, Internet Illustrates It Hilariously --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It started as a presidential election debate zinger. After Mitt Romney decried a decrease in Navy ships, President Obama noted that there had been decreases in other kinds of military gear. "You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916," the president countered to Romney. "Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed." And in a political race unfolding on the web, that was all the meme-makers needed to hear. Soon enough, tweets and Photoshopped images were everywhere. And, armed with LoLs, the internet won another debate. *Image via [Know Your Meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/422844)*
