January 4: RuneScape Rises, Egg Breaks Record, Cicada 3301 Appears

On this day in meme history, “RuneScape” was gifted to gamers, giving them a vast world full of quests, creatures and noobs buying GFs to enjoy. A “Garry’s Mod” player’s squeaker scream “Delet This!” echoed across the web, inspiring a lasting catchphrase. An image of an egg, crowned the “World Record Egg,” became the most-liked image on Instagram. Finally, the mysterious Cicada 3301 puzzle began on 4chan, sending the internet on a scavenger hunt.

RuneScape: The Only MMO With Gnome Children

In 2001, the massively multiplayer online RPG “RuneScape” officially launched, letting players experience the medieval fantasy world of Gielinor for the first time. Since then, over 280 million accounts have been made on the game, which has spawned a massive community filled with memes. For example, the “buying GF” meme, based on the very real phenomenon of players trying to buy in-game girlfriends, or the “Gnome Child” meme, inspiring an image that will go down in history. Read more.

Delet This: The Squeak Heard Web-wide

In 2004, a “Garry’s Mod” player posted a video where they bury a player alive using in-game objects as he screams in a typical squeaker voice, “Delete this!” which went viral as a perfect example of gamer rage. The phrase “Delet This,” misspelled for unclear reasons, has since become a meme catchphrase used when someone wants you to delete something, whether it be a cringeworthy meme, a bad comment or a failed attempt at a ratio. Read more.

World Record Egg: Setting A World Record Together

In 2019, the Instagram page world_record_egg posted a simple image of an egg to their page, asking everyone that saw it to like and share so the egg could become the most-liked image on the site, a record held by Kylie Jenner at the time with 18 million likes. Astonishingly the plea worked and the image skyrocketed past Jenner’s post, then just kept on going. At the time of writing world_record_egg’s image is still the most liked on Instagram with over 55.6 million likes. Read more.

Cicada 3301: 4chan’s Mysterious Scavenger Hunt

In 2012, an image of a puzzle was posted to 4chan’s /x/ board coming from someone claiming to be looking for “highly intelligent individuals,” sparking a scavenger hunt across the board known as Cicada 3301 due to the number “3301” at the bottom of the post. 4chan users quickly started to crack the code, finding a hidden link to a wooden duck, a secret phone number and a strange image of a cicada, becoming one of the web’s most puzzling events. Read more.

Today's trending memes and the latest news

Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny:

Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny are a series of memes based on edited images of character Mr. Incredible in which he appears increasingly traumatized. The format, which gained popularity on YouTube and TikTok in December 2021, is a development of July 2021 Traumatized Mr. Incredible meme format.

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All My Apes Gone:

All My Apes Gone refers to a tweet sent out by a Bored Ape Yacht Club enthusiast announcing that he had been hacked and his ape NFTs were stolen in late 2021. The catchphrase "All My Apes Gone" became a joke on Twitter shortly after as users posted GIFs and tweets mocking the user for his plight.

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Bored Ape Yacht Club Accused Of Racist Origins, Sparking Heated Debates Online:

A Twitter space dedicated to talking about the racist origins of Bored Ape Yacht Club has led to a wider discussion and trend surrounding the NFT project.

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Why Are the Bogdanoff Twins Famous and How Did They Die?

The Bogdanoffs are identical twin brothers best known for producing the science fiction television series Temps X and their involvement in a theoretical physics dispute. On 4chan, the brothers are associated with a list of grandiose conspiracy theories known as the "Bogpill." On December 28th, French media reported that Grichka Bogdanoff died aged 72. On January 3rd, six days after Grichka's death was reported, Igor Bogdanoff died. [...]