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Quizzes > Society & Culture

Meme IQ Test: How Well Do You Know Viral Memes?

Quick, free meme quiz to test your knowledge. Instant results.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Alicia ParfittUpdated Aug 23, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art illustration of layered paper frames brain lightbulb meme symbols puzzle pieces on coral background

This meme IQ test helps you gauge how well you catch viral formats, punchlines, and meme history. Answer quick questions, learn from misses, and see your score right away. Want more? Try our dank meme quiz, find your match with what meme are you, or take a lighthearted fun iq test.

What is a meme in internet culture?
Only image-based jokes
A cultural idea or behavior that spreads online
A type of long-form video
A secret code for websites
In internet culture, a meme refers to any piece of content—text, image, or video—that spreads virally online through imitation or replication. The term was popularized by Richard Dawkins to describe cultural transmission. While memes are often image macros, they are not limited to images.
Which website is credited with popularizing the rage comic format?
4chan
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
Rage comics first gained traction on 4chan's /b/ board around 2008. Users created simple, hand-drawn face templates to express emotions. The format later spread to Reddit and other forums, but 4chan is credited for its origin.
When did the 'Distracted Boyfriend' stock photo first become a meme?
2015
2019
2017
2010
The 'Distracted Boyfriend' photo was taken in 2015 but didn’t become a widespread meme until 2017. It features a stock image by photographer Antonio Guillem and went viral when users began adding captions to represent shifting interests. Its format exemplifies the image macro style.
What is considered one of the first widely recognized internet memes?
LOLcats
Hamster Dance
Rickroll
Dancing Baby
The 'Dancing Baby' animation, also known as 'Baby Cha-Cha-Cha,' is one of the earliest internet memes, originating in 1996. It was a 3D-rendered GIF circulated via email and early web forums. Its viral spread predates modern social media entirely.
What defines an image macro meme?
A picture with overlaid text in a specific font
A short video clip with subtitles
An animated GIF with sound
A single-scene movie clip
Image macros are static images with text superimposed, usually in white Impact font with black outlines. This style became popular on sites like 4chan and Reddit for adding commentary. The consistent font and formatting make them instantly recognizable.
Pepe the Frog, a popular internet meme, originated from which comic series?
Calvin and Hobbes
The Far Side
Garfield
Boy's Club
Pepe the Frog was created by Matt Furie in his 2005 comic series 'Boy’s Club.' The character’s laid-back catchphrase 'Feels good man' propelled it into meme culture. Over time, Pepe was adapted into numerous variants across platforms.
What characteristic is common in 'deep fried' memes?
Minimalist text-only format
Strictly political content
Excessive color saturation and distortion
Long video loops
Deep fried memes deliberately distort images through over-saturation, noise, and compression artifacts. This over-the-top editing style exaggerates humor or absurdity. It originated on platforms like Reddit and Snapchat filters.
What term describes memes that appeal to mainstream audiences and lack niche humor?
Corporate meme
Dank meme
Normie meme
Meta meme
Normie memes are simple, broadly appealing jokes that often lack deep or obscure references. They’re typically shared on mass social platforms like Facebook. The term contrasts with 'dank' or 'edgy' subcultural memes.
The recurrent 'Loss' meme parodies which webcomic?
Ctrl+Alt+Del
XKCD
Dilbert
Penny Arcade
'Loss' refers to a 2008 strip in Tim Buckley’s 'Ctrl+Alt+Del,' depicting a character’s miscarriage. Its simplistic panel layout led to countless parodies and minimalist renditions. The meme highlights how context transforms original works.
In which publication did Richard Dawkins coin the term 'meme'?
The God Delusion
Memes: The New Replicators
Viruses of the Mind
The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins introduced 'meme' in his 1976 book 'The Selfish Gene' to describe cultural evolution analogously to genes. He explored how ideas replicate, mutate, and compete. This foundational concept influenced modern memetics.
Which quality most defines 'dank' memes?
Strict brand endorsements
Absurd or surreal humor
Formal language
High production value
Dank memes often rely on surrealism, irony, and in-jokes, pushing absurd or unexpected humor. They frequently subvert typical meme formats for comedic effect. The term 'dank' implies freshness and underground appeal.
What is a 'snowclone' in meme terminology?
A winter sports reference
A random ASCII art
A weather-themed joke
A template phrase where components are replaced
A snowclone is a cliché template (e.g., 'In Soviet Russia, X Y you') where users swap words to create new jokes. It’s a linguistic pattern widely parodied online. The term helps describe replicable meme structures.
Which process describes the alteration of a meme through successive sharing?
Mutation
Selection
Extinction
Replication
In memetics, mutation refers to changes or adaptations a meme undergoes each time it’s shared or remixed. This variation can lead to divergent meme variants over time. Similar to genetic mutation, some adaptations increase a meme’s virality.
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Study Outcomes

  1. Evaluate Your Meme IQ -

    Measure your memetic savvy by completing our free iq test meme quiz and see how your score stacks up against fellow meme enthusiasts.

  2. Identify Viral Meme Formats -

    Recognize and name popular internet meme templates featured in this meme iq test, from classic panels to modern video clips.

  3. Trace Meme History -

    Understand the evolution of memes by exploring key milestones and how early internet jokes paved the way for today's viral content.

  4. Decode Cultural References -

    Spot hidden jokes and layered meanings behind memes, enhancing your ability to interpret nuanced humor across contexts.

  5. Compare Memetic Patterns -

    Analyze similarities and differences between meme formats to grasp the underlying tropes that drive their viral success.

  6. Engage in Internet Meme Trivia -

    Test your knowledge with fun facts and surprising tidbits from our memetics quiz, boosting your confidence in all things meme-related.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Origins of Memetics -

    Understand that the term "meme" was coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976) to describe cultural replicators. Think of memes as ideas that evolve like genes, and use the mnemonic "M-E-M-E: Message Evolves Minimally Everywhere" to recall the core concept.

  2. Meme Formats & Classification -

    Familiarize yourself with macro memes (image + top/bottom text), micro memes (short video loops), and exploitable templates as cataloged on KnowYourMeme.org. For a quick recall, remember "MIME": Macro, Image macro, Micro, Exploitable.

  3. Transmission Pathways -

    Review horizontal vs. vertical transmission: horizontal spreads across peers (e.g., retweets) while vertical passes to new generations (e.g., family traditions). Draw a simple graph of "memetic R₀ = shares ÷ original viewers" to gauge propagation potential.

  4. Cognitive Biases in Meme IQ Test -

    Spot how confirmation bias, recency bias, and pattern recognition shape meme reception; quiz questions often hide references that play on these biases. Use the formula "CI = (context clues + image cues) ÷ ambiguity" to evaluate your interpretation speed.

  5. Measuring Memetic Impact -

    Learn key metrics like Engagement Rate = (likes + comments + shares) ÷ views, as used by digital marketers from institutions like MIT's Media Lab. Practice estimating impact: a meme with 500 shares, 1,000 likes, 2,000 views scores an ER of 0.75, building your meme IQ for real-world quizzes.

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