20 Memes That Got Us Through 2020 | Hey BU (2024)

With this year finally coming to a close, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief. As we look toward the new year, let’s give thanks for what really got us through 2020—the memes. Here’s our list of 20 memes that did the trick.

1. “I am once again asking for…”

No matter your political leanings, this meme was one of the most entertaining of 2020. The seemingly endless different mashups that people created had us rolling all year. Some of the variations hit a little too close to home though.

2. Anything Tiger King

Yeah, we can’t believe that Tiger King was released this year either. It feels like it was forever ago that our timelines were filled with Carol Baskin and Joe Exotic memes. We’re just slightly ashamed that we were in Joe Exotic’s one percent of fans on Spotify.

3. Mike Pence fly

While the election was a terrible experience, we can at least look back at some of the memes and laugh. The Vice President Pence Fly meme took the internet by storm after his debate with Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. During the debate a fly landed on Pence’s head for a solid minute—so Twitter went off. And we loved every second of it.

4. Participation trophies for everyone!

🏆🏆🏆

5. Silver lining of 2020?

Facts.

6. The Last Dance

Similar to Tiger King, The Last Dance helped us get through the initial first wave in the beginning of the year. So it should come as no surprise that the internet made a bunch of memes about the documentary. You might be surprised how many things Michael Jordan took personally.

7. Karens

Maybe it’s something in the air this year, but 2020 has seen a huge rise in “Karens”—someone who acts superior and insists on seeing the manager. While Karen memes are by no means new, this year they exploded. And with all the people refusing to wear masks, there’s been no shortage of Karen incidents going viral this year.

8. Nevada

Who would have ever thought we’d talk about Nevada so much? With the state being particularly slow to give out election updates, the home of Las Vegas became the butt of many jokes.

9. Titanic

With 2020 being a complete and utter mess, many associated the year with the Titanic sinking, and the meme creators being the musicians keeping everyone calm as the world sinks into oblivion.

10. Dark mode

While 2020 brought us dark times, our favorite tech companies gave us dark mode. Appropriately matching our moods.

11. True friendship

In a world of nonstop video calls, true friendship is when the call disconnects and you both decide not to call back.

12. Back to the future

Dystopian movie? Nope, just 2020.

13. TikToks everywhere

Literally, everywhere you look, there’s someone randomly dancing in front of their phone.

Psst…don’t forget to follow us (@BostonU).

14. So toxic meme

It’s 2020, this was bound to resurface.

15. Leonardo Dicaprio laughing

Whether it was laughing at the absolute absurdity of this year or the funny text you just sent your roommate, this meme says it all.

16. Artoo, our new favorite Boston terrier

Artoo 2020.

17. When the murder hornets arrived

Remember April, when we thought: “It can’t get much worst than this, right?” LOL!

18. “Hope this email finds you well”

Hint: an email hasn’t found anyone well since 2019.

19. The January—September decline

Imagine how this meme would look now that it’s December. 🙃

20. It’s not going well

Remember a time when everything wasn’t an absolute dumpster fire?

To all of the meme-ers out there—we thank you. Your wit and creativity have helped us laugh our way through this crazy year. Here’s to a promising 2021 (fingers crossed)!