Our meme picks for 2018

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2018 was a productive year for social media memes. We have seen UK's prime minister dancing, Facebook's CEO almost becoming a "robot," and the debate over "Yanny or Laurel." Here are our 10 picks for the best memes and trending stories in China and around the world this year.

1. The Dancing Queen: Theresa May

Nicknamed "Maybot" in late 2016 by The Guardian's sketch writer John Grace, UK's prime minister took this to a new level with her debut dancing performance during a visit to Africa in August, where she actually attempted to dance, twice.

May dances with students during her visit to Africa, August. /VCG Photo

And she danced again, this time to ABBA's "Dancing Queen," before giving a speech at the Conservative party conference in October.

May dances on stage at the Conservative party conference, October. /VCG Photo

According to the BBC, Downing Street said that May's moves were completely "spontaneous."

2. Trump is coming

In November, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted a photo of himself with the caption "sanctions are coming," regarding the U.S.'s upcoming sanctions on Iran. The president's adopted mantra and the font come from popular HBO show "Game of Thrones," and his pose was intended to evoke characters such as Ned Stark.

Screenshot via Twitter

HBO tweeted back, "How do you say trademark misuse in Dothraki?" This is the language spoken by the inhabitants of the Dothraki Sea from the show, who are ruled by fans' favorite Daenerys Targaryen.

Some Twitter users replied with another paraphrased line from the show – "You know nothing, Donald Trump" – but he still went ahead with the sanctions.

Screenshot via Twitter

3. Mark 'Zuckerbot'

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified at a hearing in front of the U.S. Congress this April, answering questions about how his social media site collected users' personal data.

Screenshot via Twitter

The young entrepreneur's emotionless face while struggling to explain Facebook to the Congress was later seen as evidence to support an existing suspicion that the billionaire might actually be a robot.

4. Meme boy Gavin Thomas came to China

Photo via Weibo

Better known in China as the "simpering boy," Gavin Thomas may be the most famous foreigner in Chinese memes. For many, his awkward polite smile is a perfect fit for many socially awkward situations. The then seven-year-old registered on Weibo in July and made a trip to China in August.

Photo via Weibo

His journey to Beijing and southwest China's Chengdu was a success – for meme fans, at least.

5. Super Typhoon Mangkhut

The typhoon, named after the Thai for Mangosteen fruit, swept through the Philippines and south China in September, leaving a trail of destruction. Though faced with impending danger, people from south China's Guangdong Province fully exerted their creativity while defending their homes.

Photo via Weibo

Tape to prevent windows from being broken by strong winds was made into different shapes and patterns.

As Guangdong is famous for its rich food culture, plenty of jokes were made about cooking the fruity typhoon.

Photo via Weibo

6. #NotMe either

In November, a chat between designer Stefano Gabbana and an Instagram user ignited a national boycott against Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana in China. The leaked screenshot of the chat showed that the designer used rude language against China, after the brand's Weibo ad was accused of being racist and was later removed. The designer later published a post saying his account had been hacked, with a caption of "Not Me" in bold and red font.

Screenshot via Weibo

The Chinese models hired for the brand's show in Shanghai quit the show and initiated a #NotMe movement on social media mocking with their own photos made for D&G.

The show was later cancelled as many more celebrities boycotted the event.

7. A unique gathering of cultural relics

Seven museums in China brought several cultural relics together in a unique way on social media app TikTok, storming China's social media. The video of the campaign celebrating International Museum Day, which brought the historical objects to life, hit 118 million views in four days.

Have you ever seen dancing terracotta warriors? Or a bronze ding with a pair of laser eyes? If you haven't, you're missing out.

Screenshot via bilibili.com

This wasn't the only relic-based meme to appear on Weibo.

Photo via Weibo

8. Has your traveling frog come home?

The Travel Frog mobile game was a massive success on Chinese social media, even though it's a far cry from the other big hits in the industry. Travel Frog's low key game play, features a cute frog that goes traveling and leaves the player to tend to its home until it comes back. While it's away, the frog will send postcards of places where it has visited and the friends that it has made along the way.

Screenshot via Weibo

The game was seen by some as having a sense of "home" and soothing to those who are stressed out.

9. The 'couple' stealing seats on high speed trains

People stealing seats on China's high speed trains has been a regular hot topic on social media since August, when a video of a man who refused to give up a seat assigned to another passenger went viral. The man pretended to be unable to stand up and even asked for a wheelchair.

Photo via Weibo

Later in September, a woman was seen in a video to have taken another person's seat and refusing to give it back. Both events triggered anger on the Internet, but also prompted netizens to create memes mocking their behavior.

10. Yanny or Laurel?

An audio clip of a voice pronouncing a word caused chaos online: Was it saying "Yanny" or "Laurel?" The debate was similar to that of the dress, which went viral in 2015 for looking white and gold or black and blue depending on the viewer.

Opinions divided the White House too, as they made a video asking government staff what it was. However, Donald Trump said that he heard "covfefe" – a misspelling of the word "coverage" used by him in one of his tweets in 2017 – which itself became a meme.

Screenshot via Twitter

According to the New York Times, the word "yanny" is strong in higher frequencies, while "laurel" in lower frequencies. As the audio is a mixture of both, people may hear different sounds depending on what their ears are better at picking up.

(Cover: Theresa May (L), Gavin Thomas (C) and Mark Zuckerberg (R). /VCG Photo)