Q 01/05

Who coined the word 'meme' in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene?

A) Richard Dawkins

B) Stephen Hawking

C) Carl Sagan

D) Noam Chomsky

Answer · why

A) Richard Dawkins

He shortened the Greek 'mimeme' ('imitated thing') to rhyme with 'gene', long before anyone shared cat pictures.

Q 02/05

Who first used the phrase 'Internet meme', in 1993?

A) Tim Berners-Lee

B) Mike Godwin

C) Marc Andreessen

D) Jimmy Wales

Answer · why

B) Mike Godwin

The same Mike Godwin gave us Godwin's law about online arguments drifting toward Hitler comparisons.

Q 03/05

Godwin's law says the odds of a comparison to whom approach one as an online discussion grows?

A) Stalin or the Soviets

B) Hitler or the Nazis

C) Satan or the Devil

D) Big Brother or Orwell

Answer · why

B) Hitler or the Nazis

Godwin proposed it in 1990 as an experiment in memetics; a 2021 Harvard study found the effect isn't statistically common on Reddit.

Q 04/05

A rickroll bait-and-switches you into the video for which 1987 Rick Astley hit?

A) Whenever You Need Somebody

B) Never Gonna Give You Up

C) Together Forever

D) Careless Whisper

Answer · why

B) Never Gonna Give You Up

It grew out of a 4chan prank called 'duckrolling'; the first rickroll in 2007 replaced a Grand Theft Auto IV trailer.

Q 05/05

Rick Astley took rickrolling mainstream by lip-syncing on a float at which 2008 event?

A) The Super Bowl halftime show

B) The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

C) The MTV Video Music Awards

D) The Tournament of Roses Parade

Answer · why

B) The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

He appeared on a Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends float after Cartoon Network paid him handsomely; many 4chan users then declared the joke dead.