best memes 2020, TikTok
[Photos via YouTube]

10 of the most ridiculous memes that helped define 2020

Let’s face it: 2020 sucked for a lot of reasons. Even though this year was bleak, social media always found a way to take dark topics and boring days and turn them into memes.

Throughout quarantine and state-wide lockdowns, new TikTok challenges emerged, and fun Instagram and Twitter trends helped us spend our time at home.

Read more: 50 most anticipated albums of 2021 in alternative, metal and beyond

Here are our top 10 memes that defined 2020 for us. Here’s to 2021 and all the beautiful new memes and self-deprecating jokes to come.

“I’m Just A Kid” TikTok trend

Simple Plan‘s “I’m Just A Kid” turned 18 years old this year and made a huge comeback on playlists when a throwback challenge trended on TikTok. Creators grabbed their siblings and pets and posed as they did in old photographs, showing years of growth to the chorus of the famous pop-punk track. Many younger siblings had a great time curling up on their older sisters’ and brothers’ laps as full-grown adults, for sure.

The Home Depot 12-foot skeleton

Let’s be real: If you bought this $300 12-foot Home Depot skeleton, you need to get as much use out of it as you can. The internet reeled over this giant decoration in October, and the love for the massive lawn ornament continues as purchasers have dressed it up with seasonal attire. Just wait until Valentine’s Day rolls around—we may see a skeleton ready to shoot us with love.

Don’t worry about what’s in the vaccine…

Some people are wary of what’s in the safe and effective Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for coronavirus. However, the social media world is saying that we’ve all done way worse things before, such as using a Warped Tour bathroom. If you know, you know…

X Æ A-12

https://twitter.com/koordell/status/1257685849971527686?s=20

It may feel like a lifetime ago, but yes, Grimes and Elon Musk had their baby with the name of a dear little robot: X Æ A-12. Obviously, Twitter didn’t allow this to go unaddressed. Hopefully, X’s future teachers will be able to pronounce their name and communicate with them. If not, we’re sure they come with an instruction manual.

Ghost Challenge on TikTok

The Ghost Challenge on TikTok was one of the reasons why people got to have fun outside this fall, and it was a great social distancing activity for friends who didn’t live together. Jack Stauber‘s now-viral song “Oh Klahoma” was the perfect background noise for young people and pets dressing up in sheets to take cool, vintage-filtered photo shoots as ghosts for Halloween. Honestly, let’s keep this trend going year-round.

Radio Rebel

Poor Debby Ryan. She became a meme with her many smirks and iconic faces from Radio Rebel. Gen Z mimicked the shy face over and over again, and it was funny every time. People even compared Ryan’s smile to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lip-bite—another iconic meme that gave us life this year.

Baby Nut

You may have forgotten that we had a Super Bowl this year, where Planters killed its 104-year-old spokesnut Mr. Peanut and gifted millions of viewers Baby Nut. The internet remained unimpressed and basically said no baby can beat Baby Yoda. The love and adoration for “The Child” transcends competing ad campaigns.

Bernie Sanders asking…

2020 was chock-full of insane political and election-centric memes. From the fly on Mike Pence‘s head during the vice presidential debate to the “We Did It, JoeKamala Harris meme, we’ve seen some good jokes about America’s flawed political system. The standout political meme of the year was definitely Sen. Bernie Sanders asking for support before he dropped out of the race. Even though Sanders didn’t get the nomination, he won over Gen Z enough to saturate the internet.

Vibing skateboarder

It’s no surprise that Ocean Spray cranberry juice sales spiked after TikTok user @420doggface208 was riding his skateboard while drinking juice and listening to “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. The video went so viral that “Dreams” charted again, and many renditions came out as a result of skateboarder Nathan Apodaca’s clip. There were even some Halloween-themed boarders who wore Scream masks and posed as Michael Myers for TikTok.

Everything is cake

Tasty, a BuzzFeed brand dedicated to fun food items and recipes, set the world on fire when they shared this video showing realistic items being sliced, revealing cake in the middle. We all started to have existential crises and asked, “Are we cake, too?” In 2021, hopefully, we won’t be tricked by this sneaky cake trend anymore.

What was your favorite meme from 2020? Sound off in the comments below!