2016 was a treasure trove of iconic GIFs. But which ones stood out from the pack? New end-of-year data from Google indicates the five top GIFs Americans searched for this year. Trust us ― they are legendary.
Here are the five GIFs that brought America joy in 2016.
1. Puppy Monkey Baby
According to Google, Puppy Monkey Baby was the top trending GIF of 2016. The somewhat odd GIF originated in a Super Bowl commercial for Mountain Dew Kickstart earlier this year. As you can see in the graph below, searches for “Puppy Monkey Baby” spiked around Super Bowl 50, between February 7 and February 13.
2. Bautista Bat Flip
Fox Sports called it “the greatest bat flip of our time.” In Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers, Bautista hammered a three-run homer, flipping his bat in celebration. The Blue Jays went on to win the game 6-3, sending them to the American League Championship Series.
According to the graph below, searches for “Bautista Bat Flip” spiked around May 15, 2016 ― seven months after the bat flip in question. That’s because on May 15, Bautista faced off against the Rangers and bat flip-induced rage bubbled over into an all-out brawl.
What can we say? It’s a bat flip worth fighting for.
3. Dat Boi
Meet Dat Boi, one of 2016’s most popular memes. The unicycling frog journeyed from Tumblr to Twitter, reaching maximum virality in May of this year. Dat Boi is difficult to explain, but the basic concept is this: The frog is “Dat Boi,” and you always greet Dat Boi with a friendly “o shit waddup.”
Google data indicates that Dat Boi was most popular in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Apparently Dat Boi was unicycling all over the Northeast this year.
4. Just Do It
America really needed some motivation this year. The famous Nike slogan was the fourth top trending GIF of 2016. Whether the GIFs were of Shia LaBeouf’s infamous “Just Do It” speech, Nike commercials or Adam Sandler screaming in “Billy Madison,” those three little words touched many lives this year.
The search term “Just Do It” trended most in Utah, West Virginia, Iowa, Arkansas and Idaho. Explore the map below to see how the phrase performed in other states.
5. Dancing Kid
There’s nothing like a dancing kid to lift your spirits after a long year. Searches for “Dancing Kid” spiked in March 2016, right around the time this video of a toddler dancing on a TV show started making the rounds. But there are plenty of dancing kid GIFs where that came from, should you need to spread the cheer.
Check out the states that needed “Dancing Kid” most in 2016.
