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The History of Meme Culture

Meme Culture

An exploration of the origins, terminology, and evolution of internet memes.

internet history sociology digital media
15 Questions Hard Ages 5+ Sep 30, 2026

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About this Study Set

This study set covers Meme Culture through 15 practice questions. An exploration of the origins, terminology, and evolution of internet memes. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.

Questions & Answers

Browse all 15 questions from the The History of Meme Culture study set below. Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.

1 Which evolutionary biologist coined the term 'meme' in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene?
  • A Richard Dawkins
  • B Stephen Jay Gould
  • C Edward O. Wilson
  • D Daniel Dennett
2 The 'Dancing Baby' or 'Oogachaka Baby', one of the first viral internet memes, was originally created as a test for which 3D animation software?
  • A Blender
  • B Maya
  • C Character Studio
  • D LightWave 3D
3 The 'Nyan Cat' meme is fundamentally based on which Japanese vocaloid song?
  • A Miku Miku Ni Shite Ageru
  • B Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!
  • C Senbonzakura
  • D World is Mine
4 What was the primary method for distributing the 'Hamster Dance' website in 1999?
  • A Usenet newsgroups
  • B Email chain letters
  • C Search engine optimization
  • D Direct URL sharing
5 The 'Distracted Boyfriend' stock photo, which became a global meme in 2017, was captured by which Spanish photographer?
  • A Antonio Guillem
  • B Javier Bardem
  • C Sofia Hernandez
  • D Miguel Ruiz
6 The 'Doge' meme, featuring a Shiba Inu, gained immense popularity in 2013 and eventually led to the creation of what cryptocurrency?
  • A Bitcoin Cash
  • B Litecoin
  • C Dogecoin
  • D Ethereum
7 Which website is widely credited with popularizing the 'Advice Animal' image macro format in the mid-2000s?
  • A 4chan
  • B Reddit
  • C Tumblr
  • D Cheezburger Network
8 The 'Rickrolling' phenomenon, involving baiting users to click a link to Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up', first originated on which message board?
  • A 4chan
  • B Something Awful
  • C Slashdot
  • D Digg
9 The 'Pepe the Frog' character was originally created by Matt Furie for which comic book series?
  • A Boy's Club
  • B The Boondocks
  • C Hate
  • D Eightball
10 In meme terminology, what is a 'normie' defined as?
  • A A user who creates original content
  • B A person outside the subculture who consumes mainstream memes
  • C A moderator of a forum
  • D A creator of high-effort video memes
11 Which of these memes is considered the first 'viral' video to achieve mass mainstream awareness before the launch of YouTube?
  • A Badger Badger Badger
  • B Chocolate Rain
  • C The Star Wars Kid
  • D Numa Numa
12 The term 'Lolcat' refers to images featuring cats with humorous captions. What was the name of the most famous site dedicated to this, launched in 2007?
  • A Cat-o-Rama
  • B I Can Has Cheezburger?
  • C The Kitten Page
  • D Meow World
13 What does the acronym 'TL;DR', often used in meme-heavy forum discussions, stand for?
  • A Too Long; Didn't Read
  • B Total Length; Data Review
  • C Time Lost; Deleted Record
  • D True Logic; Detailed Report
14 The 'Success Kid' meme, featuring a toddler clenching a fist of sand, was originally titled what by his mother, Laney Griner?
  • A Winner Boy
  • B Determination
  • C I Hate Sandcastles
  • D Beach Baby
15 What is the 'Streisand Effect' in the context of internet culture?
  • A A meme that becomes popular due to being banned or censored
  • B The rise of deepfake technology
  • C The evolution of reaction GIFs
  • D The decline of image-based memes
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