Gather round, Gen Z’ers, and hear a tale from your elderly Millennial friend. There was a time when the internet was young, and collecting media was serious business. We all had folders on our computers full of terrible quality .mp3’s and videos. They sounded like crap, nobody in the family could use the phone while they were downloading, each one took ages to arrive, and to top it off, the whole thing was illegal. And somehow, none of that stopped us from madly collecting the media we craved.

In these more enlightened times, streaming has supplanted piracy, and the media for which we’ve all got dedicated folders is memes. Memes are the new collectibles of the internet world. They’re vast, they’re fast, they’re fun, and best of all, the FBI won’t come to your house no matter how many of them you hoard. Consider these fine examples as possible additions to your own collection.

12. Dad jokes

Flex tape can’t fix that.

11. Pro-testy

“What do we want?!” “TO BE OUT HERE!” “When do we want it?!” “IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING!”

10. Wisdom of the ages

A monument to the Dunning-Kruger effect.

9. I’d tap that

How about just stop being an ass?

8. The shooting hat

These J.K. Rowling retcons are getting out of control.

7. Make some noise

WE DID IT! THE TEAM I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH AND I DID IT!

6. Isn’t it ironic

Welp, see ya on the other side, I guess.

5. Return of the king

Some say he never threw out that console…

4. Mission: improbable

“It was fun, we smoked…ribs.”

3. Black hole sun

These kids are absolutely trippin’.

2. Side by side

I’m fine and so am I.

1. Gritty realism

The PS5 is looking great.

I hope this dump has provided you with some prime meme fodder. Just don’t let the authorities catch you with a stash that dank, there could be trouble.

What’s the current states of your meme collection?

Tell us about it in the comments.