The Internet, ever a repository for silliness and endless diversions, started blessing us with odd photo-based trends as far back as the ancient era of 2010. Depending on your tolerance for nonsense, the trends ranged from dumb to creative to downright magical.
Here is a history of photo memes, starting with the one that kicked it off: planking.
Planking
The absurd meme is dated back to 2010, but it really caught fire in 2011. If you’re thinking, “Isn’t this just people lying face-down and taking pictures of themselves?” — you are correct. It became more interesting as people did it in more and more dramatic and sometimes dangerous places.
Owling
People got tired of lying down all the time, so they started sitting on things, owl-style. Owls have never felt so taken advantage of.
Horsemanning
Heretofore declared the cleverest stupid trend on this list, horsemanning is acting like the Headless Horseman. It requires two people, unless you can actually detach your head, in which case you’ve got some better memes you could do.
Batmanning
This is a good one to do on the subway if you’re bored/want to drop all your change on the ground.
It’s hanging upside down by your feet from a rail, door frame or what have you, like a bat. It’s a bit of a misnomer, though; it should be “batting,” because “Batmanning” should be pictures of you in the act of punching villains in the throat with vengeance and awesomeness.
Tebowing
Remember Tim Tebow? He was that quarterback guy who dropped on one knee to pray all the time. Football fans started taking pictures of themselves doing similar poses.
This was a case of laughing at, not with, the subject, by the way. Tebowing as a prank lasted longer than Tebow’s NFL career, sadly.
Eastwooding
At the 2012 Republican National Convention, doddering getting-kids-off-his-lawn advocate Clint Eastwood embarrassed the entire party by lecturing an empty chair onstage, as a stand-in for President Obama.
People reacted by posting pictures of themselves lecturing empty chairs, proving once and for all that politics is and always has been a big, silly pile of jokes.
Leisure diving
Second to horsemanning on the cleverness scale, this silly trend involves dressing up in an elaborate outfit, or creating a scene and snapping a photo at just the right moment of jumping into a pool, in a lounging or otherwise posed position.
Pottering
We didn’t get into Hogwarts, so this is the next best thing. Hop on a broom, time your photo just right, and it’ll look like you’re zooming around on a Nimbus 2000.
Frogging
Not content to just be spanking the Miami Heat in the playoffs, San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills decided to create his own meme.
In March, he posted a picture of himself, Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw and Manu Ginóbili “#frogging” in the streets of Denver.
Seltering
The act of contorting yourself in ridiculous poses to show off your butt, a la Instagram star and Post fitness columnist Jen Selter. Actually, most of these poses are best left to trained butt professionals.
Leg guns
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei started this one when he posed with his leg out like a machine gun and posted the picture to Instagram. Hundreds of people followed suit.