History lesson time! Today we're going to discuss the origin of memes. Yes, internet memes. Why am I differentiating the two? Well, it's because the term “meme” was first used by Richard Dawkins in 1976 - and wasn't about the internet. A meme, by Dawkins' definition (via the Oxford Dictionary) is “An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.” It's all about the transmission of ideas. Some great historical examples…

Congratulations, internet user. Somehow, through sheer motivation, or perhaps, more realistically, resignation, you have made it to the end of the week. How does it feel? If it doesn't feel like something that should be congratulated, then you're right with us. We didn't consent to being born, and we certainly didn't consent to an existence that makes us feel like we've accomplished some grand task. Life shouldn't feel like an endless cycle of suffering with tiny breaks in between, and if we ar…

When I was a sullen teenager with a vintage clothing addiction and an ever-growing record collection, I would often find myself thinking “I wasn't made for these times.” I likened myself to an old soul - world-weary and wise, with a timeless charm and worldly intellect. While some of this is probably thanks to living in New York City, a cultural mecca of sorts, I was also just…dumb. What times did I really think I was made for? The Great Depression? Did I think I would be better suited to the d…

I was not a cool kid. Up until high school, my experiences with friendship generally started with convenience and were maintained by mutual interests. But because I was not cool, these interests were a bit unorthodox. I was obsessed with reading ultra-bleak history tomes, as well as even bleaker fiction. Much of my choices surrounded World War II , and in particular, the Holocaust. I had learned at a young age that my grandfather's family was all but exterminated in their home in Ukraine, for t…

It's easy to idealize the past when the present is, um, lacking. Maybe that's why nostalgia is so present in media. We're not just talking about those ‘90s kids memes . We're talking about all the music that

There are plenty of memes bouncing around the Internet that leave a person with zero questions. You know, painfully relatable work memes , anything hyper-topical or catering to a specific niche, parenting memes. We get it: Work sucks, bosses also suck, parenting leads to serious lack of sleep, we all know the deal. When the basicness of these memes (and cat memes, and dog memes) gets to be dull, or we actually want to stimulate our withering brains, we turn to history memes. While we're not his…

I think that “ whimsical ” is one of the weirdest adjectives to self-identify as. Like, imagine just walking around describing yourself as a whimsical adult to unsuspecting strangers. Like what? It’s one of those qualities that are weird to advertise yourself as, but there are definitely people who are a little whimsical. They are the kinds of adults who are obsessed with dark Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan merchandise for some reason. They take the Renaissance fair more seriously than anyon…

We here at Memebase may not play favorites, per se, but there are certain memes we like more than others. Incredibly dumb, literal memes are probably at the top of that list. But there are other memes that delight us nearly as much, and history memes and anime memes are both pretty close in line. Our years of surfing the internet have made us privy to the happy news that there's an entire subreddit dedicated to memes that use anime stills to humorously riff on historical events both funny and d…

You don't have to crack open a textbook or a non-fiction account of some historical event to indulge in a little history. Right now, it's perfectly understandable that any of us would want to escape the present with a little trip to the past. But what if we told you that the journey through time could be one that is humorous in nature? I know, we're blowing your minds right now. But it's true. All you have to do to enjoy some historical teachings and humor is scroll through some history memes .…

Gabagool

Have you ever stopped to consider the sheer number of tweets, memes, and shitposts that are being exchanged on the world wide web? The number of memes floating around at any given time must be ccmpletely staggering. Just think: thousands, if not millions, of image macros are being sent between friends, and maybe even enemies, any given moment, making their way to the screens of world-weary web surfers such as yourselves. The variety of memes that are sashaying around the web is just as wide. Bu…

A lot can happen in a year. While 2022 may feel like a delirious fever dream, the year had its fair share of momentous events and groundbreaking achievements. Back in May, scientists managed to snag the very first photo of a black hole - a feat that we're pretty sure people will be talking about for eons to come. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the global response to the invasion, definitely snag a top ten spot where notable 2022 events are concerned. Protests in Iran, Elon Musk's acquisition…

We here at Memebase feel that history memes are a special breed. I usually have one of two reactions to them. A knowing smirk, chuckle, or nod at a meme dealing with history that I'm well-versed in. Shock, horror, and an hour-long voracious time-traveling trip through the depths of Wikipedia. Generally speaking, I mostly react in the former manner. It's good to feel smart. But every now and then a meme will introduce me to an era, event, or cultural tidbit that just leaves me feeling ill, but a…

It really is true that variety is the spice of life. If you get too much of a good thing, life can get pretty damn boring pretty damn fast. It's like mom used to say: If every day was like Christmas (or your birthday) it would lose its charm. That can definitely apply to memes as well. If we start to see tons and tons of wholesome memes , it often makes us feel more contempt for humanity - which pretty much defeats the purpose of the wholesomeness. Similarly, when every meme in a gallery is of…

Ah, the dark, dreary and joyless days of winter. Here on the East Coast, the cold (and accompanied deep, deep depression ) render us into mopey blobs with little to no energy or motivation. Big old blobs that are incapable of making good on their promises to finally cook some food for themselves instead of ordering expensive takeout. Blobs that can barely find the strength to lift the remote control to change the channel. Blobs that can hardly find the ambition to seek actual joy through hobbie…

Most of the first 10 amendments of the United States Constitution make a lot of sense in a modern context. Freedom of speech and the right to bear arms are important parts of American identity that people debate every day. However, those first two amendments have a little brother that doesn't quite level up in terms of contemporary importance. The third amendment reads, “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a…