Memes of the Week: October 18th, 2019

Memes: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Internet. Its five-day mission: to recount strange new internet phenomena. To seek out new templates and new trending topics. To boldly recount the memes of the week!

This week, Fortnite blacked out, LeBron put his foot in his mouth, Joker Stairs were identified, and memers sent up the difference between Google and Bing.

Fortnite Blackout

Fortnite sent players into a frenzy this week when it ended Season 10 with a rip in space and time. Players were then directed to a mysterious black hole that only allowed them to exit the game.

Epic Games is clearly having some fun in anticipation of the next season of Fortnite, going full ARG ahead of its launch and deleting all Fortnite social media posts. The black hole would occasionally show numbers, which were eventually decoded to mean, "I was not alone. Others were outside the Loop. This was not calculated. The nothing is now inevitable." The whole thing was a set up for Fortnite Chapter 2 which was announced just a couple days later, but in the end the spooky Fortnite experiment proved a treat for fans of the game and internet mysteries.

LeBron James China Comments

LeBron James has had a rough week after throwing Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey under the bus for supporting the Hong Kong Protestors and taking a neutral stance on the ongoing China/Hong Kong fight. Many figured this was for monetary reasons, as the NBA's business ties in China have taken a heavy hit since the whole thing started. James was roasted in the press for not standing up for human rights and became the subject of dozens of photoshops making him look like Mao Zedong.

James has since stated that he hopes he can drop the issue and focus on helping his team win a championship in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, his brand abroad and in the states has continued to take a heavy hit.

Joker Stairs

One of the most famous scenes in Joker features Joaquin Phoenix dancing on a lengthy urban staircase. Well those stairs were found, and they're located in the Bronx.

As with everything Joker-related, the stairs were immediately memed. The usual edits appeared: What If We Kissed…, We Live In a Society, etc. It will be interesting to see if anyone heads to the Joker Stairs as a tourist destination, because where they are isn't exactly the most glamorous area of New York City.

Google Vs. Bing

If you've been on the internet for any amount of time, then you're familiar with Google and its less beloved cousin, Bing. The battling search engines entered the memesphere this week as users parodied the perceived difference between the two. This is because if you "Google" "how to commit suicide," Google will redirect you to help services, whereas Bing will suggest easy ways to do the deed.

When this was rediscovered by Redditors in late September, memes about Bing's "scummy" suggestions began to spread, peaking this week.