KYM Review: Viral Challenges of 2016

Editor’s Note: This article is part of Know Your Meme’s annual review series looking back at some of the most memorable and popular memes, events and people that defined Internet culture in 2016 as we know it.

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iral challenges tend to be pretty stupid. Remember the #WhackYourselfInTheFaceWithA2x4 challenge? You don't, because I just made it up, but you thought it was possible for a second, didn't you?

2016's crop of challenges didn't buck that trend. For the most part, it was another year of people hurting themselves for the clicks and retweets, much to the chagrin of those who find these trends tiresome after they see two examples (i.e. everyone). But there were a few really good ones. These challenges are at their best when they inspire participants to be creative, and a few challenges gave us some incredible videos and photos to remember 2016 by. So here they are, the best, dumbest, and feed-cloggingest viral challenges of 2016!

Mannequin Challenge

The Mannqeuin Challenge is one of the best viral challenges we've gotten since viral challenges became a thing. It requires creativity and dedication from a large group of people, which are two extremely rare things. The premise: stay perfectly still while a camera person moves through the scene, creating the illusion that the camera is moving through a frozen moment in time. It's usually pretty clever and enjoyable, even when the Kardashians do it.

It spread like wildfire through the country in the weeks leading up to the election, prompting Hillary Clinton to once again butcher a meme by doing a mannequin challenge called "don't stay still on election day" or something. But while the high-profile mannequin challenges were cool, the best by far was one made by Black Lives Matter activists that showed recreations of various police shootings in the past year. A meme made for social change that actually is powerful and affecting is a rare, glorious thing.

One Finger Selfie Challenge

The One Finger Selfie Challenge is one of the most devious challenges ever created. The idea is to take mirror-nude selfies using one finger to cover your naughty bits. I suspect an extremely small number of people actually participated in this, but combine nudity with the phrase "viral challenge" and you have a story that's a click-hunting website's dream.

The One Finger Selfie Challenge was sexy and stupid and gained the attention of the media because it's a story that has sold papers since the dawn of time: the TEENS are doing WEIRD SEX THINGS. Also it inspired a lot of hentai, which was just a blast to look at while researching this, thanks.

Corn Drill Challenge

When Al Gore invented the internet, this is what he envisioned: a utopia where men and women from all over the world stuck corn to power drills and spun them on their face.

The Corn Drill Challenge is some prime internet, harkening back to the days when people made people made harmless, stupid videos for fun. Well… almost harmless. Of course, it wouldn't be classic internet unless someone got seriously injured, and luckily, the Corn Drill Challenge came through.

UNameIt

Things people love: Thanksgiving, Grandmas, Gospel, Hip-hop, Beans, Greens, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Lambs, Rams, YOU NAAAAAAME IT.

Great remixes always make for good memes, and the #UNameItChallenge provided one of the year's best when Shirley Caesar's list from the gospel song "Hold My Mule" got the club-banger treatment. It became one of the best Thanksgiving memes ever with its great beat and family-friendly message. It even inspired a rap that made "tofu turkey" almost sound appealing to non-Vegans, which is an impossible task for anything, let alone a meme.

Grey Sweatpants Challenge

Dicks. We love 'em! And dick-lovers love seein' em outlined in grey sweatpants. But when one thirsty Twitter user asked to see some dicks in some sweatpants, the men of Twitter responded by showing just how big they could get their bulges to go.

The Grey Sweatpants Challenge found men shoving a lot of shit down their pants in a kooky reversal of the typical "responding to requests for nudes with goofs" games of the internet. It was good wholesome fun mocking the perpetually horny online culture, and got some creative responses. Everything was PG and nothing hurt and yes I'm pretending no one responded seriously to the challenge.

Kirby's Dreamland Challenge

Few songs are as fun and infectious as the Kirby's Dreamland theme. You can't help but be happy when you hear it. That's why setting it to dancing that doesn't fit is hilarious every time.

The Kirby's Dreamland Challenge asks participants to set videos to the Kirby's Dreamland theme. Not the hardest challenge in the world to pull off, but man, did it yield results. The playfulness of the song injected any video with pure joy. Stuff like the Kirby's Dreamland Challenge will be missed once Vine goes under.

#M7Challenge

On July 12th, 2016, Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni sat by the side of the road to take a phone call. People thought this was hilarious.

What happened next is what happens whenever the internet gets whiff of a good photoshop contest: the #M7Challenge. Suddenly Ugandans and other Africans began adopting Museveni's pose, taking phone calls in chairs in extremely ridiculous places, eventually leading one challenger to get hit by a car in the middle of the road. Other than that terrible event, the #M7Challenge was pretty funny, if only because it all started from a politician sitting in a chair taking a phone call. That, and it led to some pretty incredible photos.

Bottle Flipping

One of the most innocuous but hardest fads of 2016 was bottle flipping. The premise is simple enough: you flip a half-full water bottle and get it to land vertically. But if there's any doubt as to how hard it is, take a listen to the reaction one teen gets to the accomplishment in the video that started it all:

After Mike Senatore's epic video, the craze was afoot. Teens everywhere were flipping bottles. The trend made it to the Dude Perfect channel, where five guys performed the stunt in increasingly ridiculous settings:

The simplicity of the idea and its difficulty made it one of the most enduring viral trends of 2016. The latest example of bottle flipping finds NBA superstar and meme-participator Lebron James trying to pull it off as his Cavaliers utterly wrecked the New York Knicks. But no matter how intense the videos get, none will be as epic as the original.

Name a More Iconic Duo

In September this year, Twitter was inundated with people naming iconic duos. Why? They were making fun of a Kardashian fan, of course.

@negansvoid innocent tweet challenged the internet to think of any duo who could possibly be "more iconic" than Kylie and Kendall Jenner, and Twitter was happy to try. They picked Hall & Oates. Hoda and Kathy Lee. Beyoncé and Kelly (and not the other one).

@negansvoid learned two lessons of Being Online the hard way when she sparked the "Name a More Iconic Duo" meme. 1) Never challenge the internet. 2) Especially when it involves the Kardashian family.

Backpack Challenge

After researching so many challenges that find The Teens doing Stupid Shit (see: the Huh challenge), it warms my heart to see them get pelted by backpacks.

The Backpack Challenge is just that: teenagers getting pelted by backpacks. Much like how citizens of biblical times would stone women found unfaithful to their husbands, teens of 2016 gathered up their friends and filled their backpacks and threw them at their peers. This is a challenge only in name. There is no winning. There is only suffering and pain amidst the laughter of 15 year-olds. Which, honestly, makes it pretty fun. As Jesus basically said, Let He Among Us Without Sin Be the First to Throw Thy Backpack at This Idiot.