By the time you find this article, it is very possible that its contents could be considered ‘out of date’. That is how fast the Internet moves — especially concerning the concept of ‘memes’: humorous images, videos, piece of text, etc. that are copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users. By the time this article is released, the teenage population could very well have found another meme-worthy device among social media — deeming this review inaccurate. However, I highly encourage readers to go ahead and indulge themselves in this harmless ‘meme-valuation’ of the top three memes of 2015.

There are many factors that go into creating a meme, but much of the time, memes are made without intention. The following memes have been rated on a 1-5 star scale based on popularity, originality, and longevity.

The ‘John Cena’ meme originated from the YouTube prank-calling sensation in which a radio show repeatedly calls an unsuspecting woman, offering a pay-per-view wrestling show. Not only does this woman absolutely loathe wrestling, but she absolutely cannot quit answering the phone. And nothing is more humorous than listening to someone completely lose their mind. Naturally, this video boomed — initiating its rise to ‘meme-dom’.

This meme is undeniably popular, but it’s also quite unoriginal. I wouldn’t consider screaming “JOHN CENA!” at essentially anything to be creative — no matter how hilarious it is. Nonetheless, this meme has exhibited exceptional longevity. Thus, the ‘John Cena’ meme receives a 3 star rating.

What are those? I doubt you read that without dragging out an unnecessarily long ‘o’ sound and thinking of a pair of shoes. This meme originated from a post on Vine featuring the Vine user pointing at a police officer’s shoes and screaming “What are THOSE?!”. The video was passed around instantaneously upon release, and has since been a common phrase among the teenage population.

This meme is mostly used by pointing out any ridiculous apparel and following it up with a loud and obnoxious “What are THOSE?!” This meme is extremely popular and has yet to be diminished from the teenage lingo. However, it is only mildly creative in that there aren’t many ways to replicate it with new, original interpretations. ‘What are those?!’ receives a 4 star rating.

Do you see blue and black or white and gold? You’d have to practically live under a rock not to understand that reference. The dress became a worldwide ‘pheno-meme-non’ minutes after a washed-out picture of a dress hit Tumblr on February 26, 2015. Its rise to fame was essentially instantaneous — spurring on arguments of all kinds in its climb.

The dress became popular in a matter of minutes across all social media platforms. One could even argue that it was the fastest rise in meme history, with 10 million tweets regarding the dress coming in at just 24 hours of the photo release. However, it died within a few days after it was revealed to be, in fact, a black and blue dress. Arguments dissipated, and no one cared about it much after that. There weren’t many ways to recreate this meme either, but its popularity was considerably impressive. The dress receives a rating of 3.5 stars.