We know that many may find it hard to look back on their life in the outgoing year, but some things are really worth it. As 2022 is almost here, it's time to remember the masterpiece memes that have kept us going during these difficult times.
For hilarious flashbacks (or cringe), check out the list below.
Bernie Sanders' Mittens
Little could Sanders have imagined that his 'Cold Bernie' look would blow up the internet, but here he is: the fashion star of Twitter, warming up in his sustainable mittens made of recycled wool that he chose to wear on Biden's Inauguration Day, threatening to overshadow the president and the first lady and probably stealing attention from someone's red carpet outfit.
"This could've been an email", one tweet said, gaining over 1 million likes since then.
Sanders' fashion statement has since been photoshopped into dozens of legendary photos, iconic movies, classical paintings, and even MMA bouts.
Here are just some of them (beware of the merge memes):
Suez Canal Blockage
On a March morning, the container ship Ever Given en route to Rotterdam (Netherlands) from China, turned across the southern portion of the Suez Canal, which forms part of the direct trade route from Asia to Europe, and ran aground, triggering an almost week-long crisis, with damage to the global economy estimated at $ 9.6 billion per day, according to Bloomberg.
The incident sparked a whole wave of hilarious associations, uncomfortable jokes, and a barrage of ideas about how the situation could have been resolved with a bit of imagination.
And finally, the meme that basically summarises how we felt this whole year.
#TedFled
It seems that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has been omnipresent in 2021, not missing an opportunity to comment on practically everything that has been going on in US politics, but no! When his home state needed him the most, the senator decided it was exactly the perfect time to take a break.
Photos of Ted Cruz leaving for a vacation in Cancun, Mexico, in the midst of the Texas power crisis were posted all over social media. Ironically, at the time of the escape, Cruz was photographed wearing a mask with a Texas flag printed on it. Never forget to stay patriotic even in the hardest of times!
More to the story, here is a sad detail: apparently, Cruz left their family dog at home as he fled the state and left netizens wondering how he could have possibly done that.
Squid Game Sensation
Record-breaking views, millions of downloads, and a source for countless memes: Netflix's "Squid Game" definitely became the most popular show of 2021, despite it only having one season (as of now).
Spoiler alert!
The Day Social Media Died (And Part of Us Did As Well)
Probably the worst day for Gen. Z fell on 4 October, when Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram just, em, stopped.
When no Instagram stories could be shared and no Facebook posts about your unpleasant experience at Starbucks could be dropped for a whole 6 HOURS, Twitter experienced a massive influx of users, becoming (once again) a beacon of hope for desperate zoomers trying not to lose their connection with the world.
But the real star of the worldwide outage was Telegram:
To add more fuel to this meme fire, on 8 October the same apps crashed again.
Let's Go, Brandon
We couldn't help but include it — a phrase you could be forgiven for thinking is a supporting chant for some guy named Brandon, but here is the nasty truth — it is actually a euphemism that means "F*ck Joe Biden".
LGB became incredibly popular among American conservatives following a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on 2 October. As racer Brandon Brown was being interviewed by an NBC reporter, the crowd was heard chanting "F*ck Joe Biden". The confused journalist, apparently in a bid to save the situation, tried to act like they were chanting "Let's go, Brandon!", but the damage was done.
Now, it seems that the unpleasant slogan will haunt President Biden until the end of his tenure.
Grab your popcorn and wait for what the next year will bring.