July

• This Is So Sad, Alexa Play Despacito

The “This is so sad” genre of meme originated in early 2018, mainly on Reddit chains. The meme became more popular once it appeared on Tumblr, with the post reading “this is so sad, alexa play despacito,” as if it were a command to the Amazon Echo. This line took off, with a variety of songs replacing “Despacito.” The line is meant to be read mockingly, which is part of what makes it funny.

• Howard the Alien

It’s unclear how this metallic, CGI alien became a meme. It’s shown in multiple remixes dancing to Lil Uzi Vert’s “Money Longer,” and lasted on the Internet for only a short while before people tended to get sick of it.

• Handshakes

The general handshake meme blew up in 2018. Images of two arms shaking hands, with captions on each arm and another where their hands meet, is supposed to show two entirely different things having one unexpected thing in common. Due to being so customizable, this meme took off in July.