Entertainment
As another year draws to a close, it's time for that age-old tradition that falls between Christmas and New Year's... end of the year round ups! We've got your mashups: The most popular videos of 2015 and the 2015 "United States of Pop" from DJ Earworm; your "do this before 2015 ends" lists, like these 13 must-watch TV shows and 11 must-read books. Google recently revealed the most Googled words of 2015 and we learned a lot about ourselves as a global community and what we cared about the most this year: Lamar Odom, Jurassic World, Caitlyn Jenner, and Paris took some of the top slots this year. But if you really want to peer deep into the true soul of the internet in 2015, one need look no further than our cultural penchant for one- to three-second clips known as GIFs.
Sidebar: How do you pronounce GIF, anyway? Do you give it a hard G like "gag" (heathen) or soft G like "giraffe" (as it should be)? To be fair, GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, so there's actually a case to be made to pronounce the acronym like you're about spit up a hairball.
...I digress.
Behold: let's count down the top 10 GIFs we searched for in 2015, according to Google!
1
Happy Birthday
If you haven't seen the tiny birthday for a tiny hedgehog video which this GIF comes, oh my goodness — stop everything you are doing and watch it right now.
2
Kayne
I think fatherhood has softened up hip hop's big tough guy.
3
Good Morning
With a GIF as sweet as this, I wouldn't mind Queen Bey waking me up every morning. Jay-Z is one lucky dude.
4
How Rude
With the news that Fuller House is coming to Netflix next year, suddenly Jodie Sweetin is relevant again!
5
Football
Don't let a such a generic search term fool you: That copyright warning you here at the end of each game — "Any other use of this telecast or of any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent, is strictly prohibited" — well, apparently the NFL had an issue with people turning short play footage into GIFs, going so far as to have offending Twitter accounts suspended for posting football GIFs. Maybe the NFL could focus their attention on more important issues like domestic violence and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
6
Rihanna
Rihanna has taken 2015 by storm, with the very slow release of her eighth studio album, Anti, track by track this year. One of those catchy tunes includes "Bitch Better Have My Money" which she performed live for the first time at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March.
7
That's Racist
Ah yes, the "That's Racist" reaction GIF: Practically an internet staple at this point. Fun fact: This GIF comes from a clip that's ten years old already, from an obscure sketch comedy show that lasted one season on MTV2. The more you know.
8
Drake
I couldn't help myself. I could easily have posted ten GIFs alone of Drake doing... whatever the hell it is Drake's doing in his "Hotline Bling" video. Man these are great.
9
John Cena
Hi there, can I speak to Champ? ...Who is Champ?
10
Just Do It
A wise piece of advice from our favorite lovable if slightly disturbed Hollywood scamp, Shia LaBeouf: "Don't let your dreams be dreams. Yesterday you said tomorrow. So just do it." *flex*
Here's to a new year filled with all kinds of internet weirdness captured in GIF form!
Images: Giphy (12)
