[imagesource: Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images]

Sjoe, it’s been a rather interesting and nerve-wracking 24 hours.

England football fans can relate, but South Africans also stayed up late into the night to follow the ‘will he or won’t he’ Jacob Zuma arrest saga.

Thankfully, we woke up to good news, and despite scenes of defiance at Nkandla,  Zuma arrived at  Estcourt Correctional Centre at about 1:20AM.

It’s a start, and hopefully, there is more time behind bars to come.

In light of all this, we thought it best to take a moment to relax and enjoy some of 2021’s defining memes. I know we’re only just over halfway through the year, so we’ll include the obligatory ‘so far’.

Mashable has picked a few out, starting with Bernie Sanders at Joe Biden’s inauguration:

The Vermont senator’s down jacket and oversized mittens — a gift from a Vermont teacher who hand-knit them from recycled sweaters — were far from the formal dress coats spotted on other guests, but they seemed to keep Sanders warm as he sat alone during the ceremony.

Sanders’ crossed arms and disinterested expression went viral as meme makers Photoshopped him onto the New York City subway, the moon, and iconic pieces of art.

We put together a compilation of the best Bernie memes, if you want to revisit those.

The guy really did pop up everywhere:

 

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We’ll gloss over the ‘it’s March again’ meme, and take a look at Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview:

Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exposed the British royal family as a racist organization that denied Markle mental health treatment and pulled the couple’s security detail when they stepped back from senior roles in the monarchy.

As the couple recounted anecdotes about “the Firm” — the British royal family’s senior staff and the associated institutions — Oprah’s appalled expressions became viral fodder. Screenshots of the interview were ripe for meme formats.

The format went a little like this:

pic.twitter.com/D4fVKzQupp

— Patch (@PatchMcScratchy) March 8, 2021

Find more of those here and here.

I’d say the year’s greatest meme phenomenon was the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal:

Twitter users weren’t particularly optimistic when the Suez Canal Authority released photos of its efforts to dislodge the massive ship, which involved eight tugboats and a comically small excavator.

Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie estimated that the stuck ship cost the Canal $14 to 15 million in daily revenue each day the passage remained blocked, but at least it gave way for excellent memes.

It really did.

We made two lists – here and here – and I’m also legally obliged to repost this one:

What is happing in #SuezCanal today explained.#Egypt
pic.twitter.com/T06bFDGQ7q

— Zaina Erhaim (@ZainaErhaim) March 24, 2021

Gets me every time.

In the past few weeks, there’s been a huge surge in the Anakin and Padmé meme:

A scene from Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones resurfaced last month as a cheeky four-panel meme format.

The set-up and punchline take place in the two panels, and Padmé’s horrified response has been used for all-too-relatable reflections on healthcare, vaccination rates, and music tastes that should absolutely be red flags.

For example:

pic.twitter.com/1WaROxgEP6

— Ben Rosen (@ben_rosen) June 13, 2021

Also very relatable:

This one hit a little too close to home. pic.twitter.com/32OxHnVXT6

— Matt Riebe (@matt_riebe) June 8, 2021

You can find more of those here and here.

Esquire also has a list of 2021’s best memes, but once you’re done here, you really should get back to work.

OK, after you’ve had a look at the Matt LeBlanc ‘Irish Uncle’ memes.

Stop.

[source:mashable]