Back in the Day
This Korean music video from 2012 featuring an invisible horse-riding dance became the first video in YouTube history to reach 1 billion views.
Gangnam Style
This three-legged shark wearing Nike sneakers is often considered the first viral character to kick off the Italian Brainrot meme trend.
Tralalero Tralala
Viral footage from a March 2024 sweet sixteen event inspired this famous internet meme, which centered on a group of high school boys singing along to Kanye West's "Carnival." "life hack" clips.
TikTok Rizz Party
Standard English defines this as charm, charisma, or romantic appeal used to attract a partner.
Rizz
Known for his hyperactive livestreams and massive Twitch audience, this creator popularized terms like "Rizz" and "Fanum Tax" across global internet culture.
Kai Cenat
What is the name of the pixelated Pop-Tart cat flying through space, leaving a rainbow trail, set to an endless 8-bit loop of "nyan-nyan-nyan"? People unironically watched 10-hour loops of this.
Nyan Cat
Departing from the standard animal-object combinations, this wooden, bat-wielding figure gets its name from a rhythmic chant used to wake up fasting communities during Ramadan.
Tung Tung Tung Sahur or Triple T
Originating from Twitch streamer Kai Cenat's community before taking over TikTok, this term refers to the practice of taking food or a bite from a friend's meal without asking.
Fanum Tax
In formal dictionary terms, this noun describes an extreme, unyielding, or unwavering state of dedication and loyalty to a specific cause or mindset.
Sigma
In late 2024, British YouTuber KSI faced widespread internet mockery and endless brainrot meme edits following the release of this heavily criticized pop single.
Thick of It
Surrounding photos of a Shiba Inu named Kabosu, this 2013 meme's internal monologue was characterized by multicolored text in this specific font.
Comic Sans or Doge
Combining a hot beverage with classical dance, this character is depicted as a figure in a pink tutu and pointe shoes whose head is a coffee mug.
Ballerina Cappuccina
In September 2021, this massive group-singing trend swept TikTok after a video of users harmonizing in a bathroom stall went viral, leading to millions of duet videos recreating nautical sea shanties.
Wellerman (or Sea Shanty) trend
Formal terminology describes this as a psychological strategy where a person intentionally feigns ignorance, incompetency, or foolishness to provoke anger and engagement from others online.
Rage-baiting
Before becoming the face of the "Bop" and "Rizz" memes on TikTok, this creator went viral in 2023 for his surreal "Costco Guys" videos alongside his father, Big Justice.
A.J. Befumo (or The Rizzler / Eric Befumo)
The absurdist MLG montage parody edits of the mid-2010s frequently featured an ear-shattering, 4-note sound effect sample pulled directly from this first-person shooter game.
Call of Duty
Often seen emerging from or holding fruit, this jungle primate hybrid character wears a signature banana peel suit.
Chimpanzini Bananini
Before becoming a central figure in TikTok's "Grimace Shake" horror trend in 2023, this purple McDonald's mascot originally debuted in 1971 as a four-armed villain who stole this specific item.
Milkshakes
Craniometrics and facial aesthetics define this morphological ideal as an optimal ratio between the intercanthal distance and cheekbone width, which internet subcultures claim can be achieved through disciplined jawline exercises.
canthal tilt (or forward facial growth / looksmaxxing)
This streamer became an integral part of the "TikTok Rizz Party" lore after clips surfaced of him wearing a distinctive patterned sweater.
Carni (or White Shirt / Turkish Quandale Dingle)
Before becoming a mainstream pop culture term, this word originated in a viral 2014 Vine video where user Peaches Monroee described her eyebrows as being "on" this state.
Fleek
This aquatic hybrid creature, known as the "King of the Sea," is most commonly depicted as a cat's head attached to a shrimp's body.
Trippi Troppi
In 2023, TikTok blew up with the surreal phenomenon of "NPC Streamers" who repeated canned phrases and physical animations whenever viewers sent digital gifts, a trend popularized by this creator known for saying "Ice cream so good."
Pinkydoll
In evolutionary ecology, this term describes the selective advantage gained when an individual visually outshines or physically dominates competitors in a social hierarchy through superior aesthetic traits.
height-mogging (or mogging)
Originally a former orthodontist from England, this internet personality became a massive brainrot icon through his viral "looksmaxxing" advice videos and signature jawline taps.
Dr. Mike Mew (or Kareem Shami / Jawline Guy)