Want to See Dr. Horrible RickRolling LOLCats?

Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.

The Web is full of odd trends, and bizarre things that get incredibly popular for no particular reason. Some things are funny, some are just weird, and some feature small children coming home from the dentist and wondering, “is this real life?”

These trends and fads on the Web are called memes, for some reason completely beyond me. Whatever the reason, they explode, and are the thing everyone’s talking about – at least for a little while.

If you’re in the mood to go back and see what’s been going on in the past, and remember some of the great memes from the golden days, a Dipity user has made a fantastic timeline of Internet memes, from the beginning of the Internet (August 16, 1970) to the already-mentioned “David After Dentist” video.

It’s full of mentions of interesting inventions and evolutions in Web-related things, as well as links to some of the most popular videos and icons of the Web. It’s both an interesting history lesson and a fun little diversion for a while. To view it, scroll through the timeline (it really picks up about 1995), and then double-click on any given item to read more about it, and view it if it’s a video.

A few interesting facts learned: The first emoticon was created on September 19, 1982. The first meme I remember? The Hampster Dance from August 1998. Peanut Butter Jelly Time? Still not that funny.

If you’re done with the timeline, and looking for more, poke around Dipity a bit. It’s an awesome resource for creating timelines of almost anything, and sharing them with people. The creation tool is incredibly easy, and Dipity works wonders pulling in all kinds of content from a huge number of sources. There’s a ton of interesting stuff put together, and it’s a site well-worth checking out, whether you want to put a timeline together or just view other people’s work.

The memes are fun, ridiculous, and a little saddening – I spent too much time watching Dr. Horrible. But it’s fun fodder for a lazy Sunday.

What’s your favorite meme?

Photo: webchicken

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