The year of 2016 has had some crazy ups and downs and the trends of the year have followed accordingly. Ranging from strange challenges to popular new memes, the fads of 2016 have been unique to say the least. So buckle up and prepare to be thoroughly embarrassed or happily reminded of this year’s trends. I’ll begin with the more mild material before I get to some of the… interesting ones.

Throughout the year we saw explosive and brief responses to the new hit movies and shows including Suicide Squad, Deadpool, Stranger Things, and the return of Gilmore Girls. Although the hype surrounding them has died down, I personally suspect that similar reactions will reemerge when the fans leave their hibernation to watch the sequels. On that note, I should mention the fleeting all around relief that the world felt when Leonardo DiCaprio finally got that Oscar that rumor says he sold his soul for.

The Rio Olympics graced us with 121 new medals this past August, six from Phelps alone, and Cupping as a form of muscle therapy was popularized by the American athletes until, of course, the Olympics ended. Going back only by a month puts us at the release of the new version of possibly the most loved virtual mythical scavenger hunt game since the beginnings of anime, and possibly the most surprisingly dangerous: Pokèmon GO. Whether it was kids learning what a Squirtle is for the first time or adults fondly remembering their love for the famous franchise, people across the nation could be seen walking around with their heads bent and partially oblivious to their surroundings, searching for Pokèmon to catch and train.

Even earlier in May, we can find the outbreak of another craze. One whose effects can be seen even now as I write this thanks to a fellow staff member who happened to drink just the right amount of water from her plastic bottle during our editors meeting. The bottle flipping phenomenon began when a high schooler flipped a half filled water bottle at a school talent show and was able to land it standing up; the noise of plastic crashing against floors has been with us ever since. More recently, chokers have come back into style. Plastic, fabric, lace, satin, and more have been reportedly seen surrounding the necks of high schoolers in the halls of Cresskill, but rather than join in on the fashion statement, I like to ponder who decided to call them such an unflattering name.

The Mannequin Challenge has caused thousands across the nation to freeze in place while Black Beatles plays in the background. The challenge has become so popular that even some Cresskill classes have been videotaped silent and unmoving as Rae Sremmurd’s opening chords to the famous song filter through a loose phone’s speaker. While not as popular as the Mannequin Challenge, the Andy’s Coming Challenge and Running Man Challenge experienced their own 15 minutes of fame. The popularity of Dabbing reached new heights at the beginning of the year and carries on even now as both teens and 2016 presidential candidates Dab across the nation.

While not exactly a fad, 2016 is also undeniably the year of celebrity deaths. Prince, Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, Phife Dawg, Gene Wilder, Alan Thicke, and Harper Lee all left us this year grieving their loss. However, the unquestionably most famous death of 2016 belongs to none other than Harambe, the Western lowland gorilla who was killed when a three-year-old boy climbed into Harambe’s enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo last May. What began as an outcry against the gorilla’s death has turned into an internet meme, a joke for the pure purpose of getting some laughs.

The memes of 2016 in particular have been like no memes before. This year saw the rise of Damn Daniel with his white vans, Dat Boi riding around on his unicycle, and Angry Arthur clutching his little cartoon aardvark fist. Prehistoric Spongebob denotes extreme caution and Evil Kermit portrays the dark side in all of us. Ted Cruz was accused of being the Zodiac Killer (don’t get me started on all the conspiracy theories of the year, we had to recruit a full staff team to cover all of those) and JoeBama memes have taken off to illustrate the duo’s quirky friendship. Despite all the new and unforgettable internet jokes of 2016, the battles between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have served as the best fodder for memes by far.

In all, 2016 has been a strange and fascinating year. A businessman was elected president, Britain left the European Union, and people feared the existence of killer clowns in suburban communities. Despite how fond I am of the past year, I must admit that no tears will be shed when 2017 comes this January. Hopefully the trends and fads of next year will be just as… unique… as the ones of 2016.