01
Gangnam Style
A horse-riding dance turned a Korean pop video into the whole internet’s choreography.
Archive score99
Internet time machine / 2012
2012, kept in the archive.
Backdrop
The Internet in 2012
Year reference
Curiosity’s rover selfieScience got an image made for the feed.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS- Facebook went public, confirming that the social network had become a giant commercial and cultural infrastructure.
- Smartphone sharing, Tumblr, Reddit, and YouTube gave a single image, video, or catchphrase multiple fast routes into the mainstream.
Archive order
Archive picks
02
Grumpy Cat
One permanent frown gave the internet permission to write its most needlessly negative inner monologue.
Archive score96
03
Overly Attached Girlfriend
One fixed smile turned a contest parody into an endless caption machine.
Archive score95
04
Dumb Ways to Die
Set fire to your hair. Poke a stick at a grizzly bear. Then, somehow, remember to be safe around trains.
Archive score94
05
Sweet Brown: “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That”
A local-news interview about a fire produced “a cold pop,” “bronchitis,” and a line that outran the parking lot.
Archive score93
06
Caine’s Arcade
A $2 fun pass, 500 plays, and a cardboard arcade that got the whole internet in line.
Archive score92