Each week Internet users find themselves gloriously entertained by a variety of inside jokes, many of which came out of an otherwise earnest news story, photograph, or video. These are memes—and this week The Daily Beast, with an assist from our friends at BuzzFeed, tracks down the best of the best to provide you your Saturday “LOLs.”
When we unearthed video of 2012 GOP presidential contender Herman Cain singing an ode to pizza set to the John Lennon tune “Imagine,” we felt that was as far as things could be taken (“Imagine all the pizza...”). But when Twitter users started tweeting #HermanCainPizzaJams—popular song titles mixed with a reference to pizza—the Internet nearly exploded.
You know the whole “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign by Dos Equis? You take that, swap in the Cookie Monster, and voila! The Most Interesting Monster in the World is born, where 99 percent of the cookies are eaten by 1 percent of the monsters.
Here’s a complicated one. You ready for this? Take one Disney character’s face and swap it with the face of another. The majority of the family-friendly face-swapping happens on a dedicated Tumblr blog, Disney Face Swap, and anyone with basic Photoshopping skills can do it. “I’m personally new to the act of swapping faces,” the Tumblr’s creator says, “but I find it to be silly levels of fun, and will do my best to make you laugh.”
Of all the sea creatures to represent the bankers, it’s the Fancy Crab, top hat and all, that best depicts the Internet’s perception of the 1 percent. After all, it is he who clawed his way to the top, pinching pennies and crustacean the middle class.
A skinny hipster with wide-rimmed glasses puts on his finest Waldo-inspired red-striped shirt and hat and photo-bombs various Comic-Con participants, sneaking into the background of their proud photographs on the scene. He calls it: The Waldobomb. So where’s Waldo? He’s right behind you.
Siri, the sassy new virtual assistant found on Apple’s iPhone 4S, has been programmed to say some pretty ridiculous things. Need to hide a body, perhaps? Looking for the meaning of life? She’s always got an answer. In the week since the app launched, one Tumblr has been collecting the best of the best. Meet S--- That Siri Says.
When one filmmaker’s mom suddenly lost her hearing several years ago, he or she found themselves mystified with her ability to read lips. Now, that producer’s taken that talent to YouTube, where they take videos of politicians, sans audio, and overdub words that match the movement of their lips—but, hilariously, make no sense at all. They’re called Bad Lip Reading, and as The Washington Post notes, the political parody videos are to 2012 what Auto-Tune the News was to 2010. With the new Mitt Romney video hitting the Web, this was their week.
Everyone knows cats make the most hilarious forward-to-your-whole-email-list faces. And nothing beats a wide-eyed and open-mouthed feline yelling that “RAPE JOKES” are the best icebreakers and other excellent advice like: “10 is the perfect age…to learn how to hitchhike!” Bad advice cat doesn’t stop there—just watch out for his last tip.
This cardigan-clad, skinny tie-loving detective has become an Internet sensation in just a matter of days. “Hipster Cop,” who’s been hanging out (er, patrolling) at the Occupy Wall Street protests, has inspired his own series of memes poking fun at his cool underground persona.
With a few simple pen strokes, the end of your nose can instantly be transformed into the head of a Teenage Mutant Ninja! From Justin Bieber to Mother Teresa, no one’s safe from the Photoshop skills of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Noses Tumblr. “God is the artist. I just find the ninja turtle in his work,” writes the blog’s creator. We’re just waiting to see who will be first to take it up a notch with some permanent ink.
A-Rod’s certainly having a busy week—attending Justin Bieber’s concert, watching arrests down at Wall Street, and picketing with the Westboro Baptist Church. Oh wait, that would be the work of an inventive blogger swapping out a picture of Yankee’s baseman Alex Rodriguez hiding from paparazzi while parking his car. Well, that’s a disappointment.
Stereotypes, prepare to be shattered. If Ordinary Muslim Man declares he wants war, he’s only referring to U2’s album. And he’s certainly not planning on shooting a pilot, unless it’s for his newest TV show. Racism doesn’t stand a chance against this hilarious photo meme.
I wouldn’t question too closely whether or not the words under Ryan Gosling’s pictures are real quotes or not. Let’s just say they are. He’s so sensitive and understanding. *Collective Sigh.*
