Art Blog #149: The Big Bang Of Internet Humor: Which Meme Went Viral First?

Which Meme Went Viral First? A Hilarious Dive Into Early Internet Culture

Ah, memes. The glue that binds the collective brain cells of the internet together. But before memes were the hot content currency of TikTok and Instagram, there was a wilder, weirder, unfiltered internet—the digital equivalent of the Wild West. If you’ve ever wondered where it all began or just want to flex some meme history knowledge on your friends, buckle up, fam. We’re going back to when modems screamed and websites looked like they were made with Microsoft Paint.

Pre-Social Media Meme Mayhem: A Simpler, Jankier Time

Before Facebook had everyone sharing their aunt’s Minion memes, the early internet was ruled by forums, imageboards, and DIY websites. It was chaotic, awkward, and bursting with potential. Platforms like MySpace and LiveJournal were still cooking in someone’s brain, leaving places like Usenet (think Reddit’s ancient ancestor), 4chan, and Something Awful as the main meme stomping grounds. People didn’t have algorithms spoon-feeding them dopamine; they had to hunt for the funny stuff. Like actual meme hunters.

And let’s talk about download speeds. You know how you complain if TikTok takes longer than three seconds to load? Back in the day, downloading a single image could take minutes. It was excruciating, but when that sweet, low-res image finally appeared? Absolute serotonin.

The Subcultures That Built Meme Culture

Who were these brave souls shaping the meme scene before it was cool? Let’s break it down:

1. Forum Trolls: These were the OG chaos-makers. Living on sites like Something Awful and early Reddit, they mastered the art of sarcastic humor and inside jokes.

2. 4chan Warriors: Unapologetically unhinged. 4chan birthed some of the most infamous memes (and scandals). The “anon” culture—the idea of anonymity—gave these users freedom to experiment with content that walked the fine line between hilarious and horrifying.

3. Flash Animation Junkies: Before YouTube, there were Flash animations. Newgrounds was the place for weird, edgy, and often ridiculously random humor. If you ever laughed at a stick figure fighting to death, thank this group.

4. Geeks and Gamers: Meme culture wouldn’t be where it is today without the gamers of the early 2000s. Communities on forums like Penny Arcade or sites like GameFAQs created memes out of in-game moments, making multiplayer lobbies the ultimate breeding ground for jokes.

5. The College Crew: College students with access to faster internet (compared to dial-up peasants) took to websites like Ebaumsworld and YTMND to share relatable content about procrastination, exams, and ramen diets. These were your early meme influencers.

The Birth of the Meme: Humble Beginnings in the ’90s

The word “meme” wasn’t invented by some edgy internet kid. It came from Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. Dawkins used it to describe how ideas spread—like genes but with vibes. Fast forward to the early days of the internet, and suddenly, the concept had a digital playground.

The first recognizable meme? Enter Dancing Baby a.k.a. “Baby Cha-Cha-Cha” (1996). This cursed 3D animation of a baby doing a bizarre, looped dance took over emails and TV. Yes, email forwards were the “Facebook share” of the ’90s. Someone’s mom probably sent this to you with the subject line: “TOO FUNNY!!!”

The internet back then felt like one giant sleepover where people stayed up way too late making goofy things just to see if others would laugh. And that’s how memes, like little cultural snowballs, started rolling.

Top 5 OG Viral Memes That Ruled the Internet

Here’s where the nostalgia hits hard. Let’s run down the list of the earliest memes that had the internet losing its collective mind:

1. Dancing Baby (1996)

   • Where it thrived: Email chains, television (it even made it to Ally McBeal!)

   • Why it hit: This uncanny valley baby was weird, random, and perfect for the time.

2. All Your Base Are Belong to Us (1998)

   • Where it thrived: Flash animations, gaming forums

   • Why it hit: A hilariously bad translation from the video game Zero Wing turned into an anthem for nerds. The broken English was meme fuel gold.

3. Hamster Dance (1998)

   • Where it thrived: GeoCities websites, Ebaumsworld

   • Why it hit: Looping GIFs of dancing hamsters paired with a ridiculously catchy tune. It’s giving pure chaos energy.

4. Badger Badger Badger (2003)

   • Where it thrived: Newgrounds, early Flash websites

   • Why it hit: A repetitive Flash animation of badgers dancing to an absurdly catchy chant. It was peak “what am I watching, and why can’t I stop?”

5. Peanut Butter Jelly Time (2002)

   • Where it thrived: Forums, YTMND, and eventually mainstream culture

   • Why it hit: A banana dancing to the beat of a goofy song. Iconic, pointless, and absolutely internet.

What Made Memes Go Viral Back Then?

It wasn’t algorithms or hashtags; it was pure human-powered chaos. Someone would see something funny, email it to five friends, and those friends would email five more. Forums were basically meme petri dishes, and websites like Ebaumsworld were treasure troves for random, hilarious content. Viral wasn’t a metric back then; it was a vibe.

Closing the Meme Loop: Then vs. Now

So, which meme went viral first? It’s hard to say definitively, but Dancing Baby was the first digital phenomenon to spread like wildfire. It paved the way for a culture that thrives on inside jokes, absurd humor, and the universal love of wasting time.

Fast-forward to today, and memes are big business, carefully crafted to hit maximum virality. But there’s something endearing about the early days, where every pixelated joke felt like a secret handshake among internet explorers.

Maybe the real first viral meme wasn’t about a baby dancing or badgers chanting; maybe it was the sense of shared wonder—the “LOL, I’ve seen this too” connection. Memes started as a way to laugh together, and even in the TikTok age, they still are. So next time you share a meme, think of the pixelated ancestors who crawled so you could run… or rather, scroll endlessly.

And hey, if your mom sends you a Minion meme later, don’t be mad. She’s just carrying on a proud tradition.

Peter von Hauerland