Editor’s Note: This article is part of Know Your Meme’s 2014 State of the Internet series looking back at some of the most memorable and popular memes, events, subcultures, sites and people that made their mark online this past year.
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Peak Period: July – September
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Summary: This social media game challenges the participant to record oneself dumping iced water over his/her head on video and sharing it online with nominations for three friends to do the same. If unable to complete this task within 24 hours of the invitation, the participant is expected to donate money for good causes, most notably for research and treatment of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
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Highlights: The origins of the meme have been attributed to multiple sources. The concept of social media nominating was in part inspired by Neknominate, a viral binge-drinking game from Europe, and preceded by Cold Water Challenge, a similar fundraising game which began in Grundy County, Tennessee earlier in March for a local toddler diagnosed with severe juvenile diabetes.
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Impact: The game instantly became the summertime Facebook meme of the year across the United States, and unlike many other challenges that came before this one, it managed to raise an estimated $220 million dollars in donations for the medical research of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). By end of the year, the Ice Bucket Challenge videos had garnered over one billion times collectively on YouTube, surpassing the milestone set by last year's viral dance video hit Harlem Shake.
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Peak Period: October – Present
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Summary: These "starter kits," sometimes known as "starter packs," are faux-fashion catalogues meant to serve as a newbie's guide to adopting the look or attitude of a particular celebrity, company, lifestyle or subculture, similar to other memes derived from reductionist humor, such as …In a Nutshell and Abridged Series.
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Highlights: The earliest known instance of "starter pack" was used in a LOLCat image dating back to December 2011, but it didn't see the light of the day on Twitter at large until weeks after a similar fashion catalogue parody "Steal Her Look" had emerged on Tumblr in time for Halloween.
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Peak Period: May – September
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Summary: A sarcastic expression used as a postscript to an insult or disrespectful remark said towards a specific individual or group. The phrase was introduced through Twitter and Instagram an image macro series featuring Kermit the Frog from The Muppets and hilarious punchlines taking jabs at a variety of social blunders or idiosyncrasies in everyday social situations.
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Highlights: The jokes resonated especially well on Twitter and Instagram; as of December 2014, there are more than 15,610 photos tagged under #kermitmemes on Instagram.
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Impact: At its peak in June 2014, Google search interest for the phrase "but that's none of my business" momentarily surpassed that of other similar expressions like "I'm just saying" and "fwiw" (for what it's worth).
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Peak Period: October – November
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Summary: A viral video showing a woman walking through the streets of New York City for ten hours while being followed, catcalled and harassed at by strangers.
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Highlights: The timing of the video couldn't have been any better, or worse (depending on how you look at), and the audience reception was rather divided. In less than two months, the video garnered more than 38 million views on YouTube.
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Impact: The video went on to spawn several dozens of parodies and satires that are based on the same concept and shot in other cities. Head over to our video gallery for the complete listings.
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Peak Period: May – July
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Summary: Not to be confused with Weegee, Luigi's "death stare" refers to the odd facial expressions worn by the character during gameplay in the eighth installment of Nintendo’s Mario Kart franchise. Upon the release of the game in late May 2014, the character’s creepy gaze quickly became the butt of many jokes and parodies among the fans.
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Highlights:
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Impact: The success of the meme once again reaffirmed Nintendo fans' universal love for subtle sinisterness, as proven true before with the introduction of "The Villager" and "Wii Fit Trainer" into the Super Smash Bros roster.
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Online Slang
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Top Comments
Synge Moderator
Dec 16, 2014 at 03:55PM EST
NESpowerhouse
Dec 17, 2014 at 04:09PM EST