Giphy has released its round-up of the most popular GIFs of the year, and though some are some no-brainers, others may come as a surprise.
The website announced that 300 million people share over two billion of the moving image files every day, but not all GIFs are created equal. Some seem to tap into universal truths better than others, making them go-tos to express particular emotions. Others are just cute.
But one thing that every GIF in the top 25 have in common? Each was shared at least 32 million times this year.
1. Love Gnome by Anna Hrachovec, 340 million views
The most popular GIF clocked in at 300 million views in 2017, after being first uploaded at the end of 2016. It shows a stop-motion gnome that has been knit from yarn. It starts knitting himself, making a heart that then flies away.
American artist Anna Hrachovec shared the GIF in response to the election results, but people who shared it from there moved way beyond the political.
2. White Guy Blinking, 226 million views
In 2013, video game site Giant Bomb uploaded a video in its Unprofessional Fridays series, in which podcaster Drew Scanlon blinks in surprise and disbelief at something another person said.
Over three years later, someone cut the reaction into a GIF — which is now frequently used on social media to express surprise, disbelief, and incredulousness.
3. DNCE’s Waving Pug, 215 million views
This GIF of a pug waving is from a behind-the-scenes moment making DNCE’s Kissing Strangers music video.
4. The Fall Out Boy Llama, 197 million views
The music video for Fall Out Boy’s single The Last Of The Real Ones features two people in llama costumes. An odd GIF of the llamas dancing in front of a purple background went viral.
5. Excited NFL Celebration, 180 million views
During a game against the New York Giants, Washington Redskins star Junior Gallette celebrated a sack with a happy dance — that perfectly captures a lot of happy feelings.
6. Good Morning, 175 million views
This GIF was used a whopping 175 million times this year to wish people a good morning — with a very happy cup of coffee.
It’s an original GIF from GIPHY Studios.
7. Golden State Warriors Happy Fan Dance, 165 million views
Golden State Warriors fans dancing in the stands during the playoffs provided a great GIF for celebrating this year.
8. ‘Nope’ Rat, 154 million view
GIPHY Studios in-house artist created this GIF, which works for vetoing, telling off, and even shaming someone else.
9: Bryan Cranston F-Bomb, 138 million views
Actor Bryan Cranston dropped an over-the-top F-bomb in the 2016 film Why Him? but it took a year for the GIF to take off. According to Giphy, it’s used mostly within political commentary on Reddit.
10. Wonder Woman Happy Dance, 135 million views
There’s no real explanation necessary for why people like this GIF of Gal Gadot behind the scenes on the set of Wonder Woman.
11. Haters Gonna Hate, 134 million views
Definitely the oldest GIF on the list, this is picked from a scene in the 1953 educational video Let’s Be Good Citizens at School.
Of course, the thought bubble with the words ‘haters gonna hate’ was not in the original movie.
12. Flirty Banana, 132 million views
Swedish Artist Jonas Mosesson has created several food-based GIFs, but this banana flashing its — uh — banana has been especially popular.
13. Baby Crying, 132 million views
Most people who see this cranky, tired baby from the Lifetime show Little Women LA have the identical thought going through their heads: Same, baby. Same.
14. Happy Drone, 126 million views
Domitille Collardey of GIPHY Studios made this GID of a flying drone with a funny smiley face for April Fool’s Day.
15. Robert Redford Smile, 121 million views
It’s likely that many young people sharing this GIF think it shows The Hangover star Zach Galifianakis — but the man is actually Robert Redford.
The GIF was lifted from the 1972 western film Jeremiah Johnson and is used to offer a nod of approval.
16. Twin Peaks’ Carl Rodd, 119 million views
This shot of Harry Dean Stanton in Showtime’s Twin Peaks: The Return captures all a matter of morose feelings.
17: Think, 114 million views
On Twitter, a still from this GIF may be more often used as a meme, but the GIF itself is clearly still pretty popular.
The moment captures Kayode Ewumi in the BBC’s #HoodDocumentary.
18. Stranger Things Dance, 114 million views
Stranger Things fans loved this moment, in which Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) dance at a house party.
19. T-Swift Kick, 110 million views
Swifties are big fans of this GIF, ripped from the singer’s September AT&T commercial.
It’s the moment that Taylor, after drawing a caricature of Andy Sandberg, engages in a choreographed fight sequence with the actor and kicks him into a wall.
20. Rafael Nadal, 109 million views
Nothing says ‘victory!’ or shows a sense of accomplishment like this GIF of Raphael Nadal celebrating his 3rd US Open championship after coming back from injuries.
21. Madelaine Petsch, 106 million views
Riverdale star Madelaine Petsch’s exaggerating wink is a favorite among fans of the show, who use it to flirt, punctuate jokes, or drop hints.
22. Trump and the Eclipse, 76 million views
Donald Trump didn’t heed warnings not to look at the solar eclipse unprotected this summer.
He stared right at it sans special glasses — a moment that inspired laughter, memes, and this GIF.
23. Maxine Waters, 73 million views
In July, Democratic representative Maxine Waters from California won over fans during a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
After she asked Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin a question, Mnuchin pivoted to talking points rather than addressing her specific concern — and Waters was having none of it.
Using a procedural interruption, she repeatedly told him she was ‘reclaiming my time’ to direct him back to the original question.
24. Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Jump, 47 million views
Super Bowl viewers went wild for this awkward moment of the halftime show, when Gaga supposedly jumped off the top of the stadium to the stage inside.
The moment was actually pre-recorded, and Gaga’s jump was not from the top of the stadium.
25. Nicole Kidman Clapping, 32 million views
The internet could not get over the odd way Nicole Kidman held her hands while clapping at the Academy Awards. A month later when Ellen DeGeneres asked her to explain, she insisted, ‘I do not clap like that, that is a weird lens.’
However, she added: ‘It’s the Cinderella thing, you borrow these expensive jewels and I’m like, ‘You must not damage these diamonds!”‘