Best Imgur Photos of 2015

15 The Year of the Trash Panda

The Internet’s favorite animal in 2015 was undoubtedly the wash bear, er, trash panda, ahem . . . raccoon. Their adorable masked faces, tiny little hands, and overall fluffiness made them the perfect target for countless GIFs and images to d’aww over. This little guy just wanted to help his family make sure everything in sight was clean, and in doing so stole the hearts of 5.9 million while earning 17,143 points on Imgur.

1 / 15

14 Fallout 4 Preorder

Image Source: Imgur

The most anticipated video game of the year had to be Fallout 4. Since Fallout 3 was released in 2008, fans had plenty of time to come up with creative strategies to get excited about the new release. The most awesome of those came from Imgurian GatorMacheteJr, who, throughout his four and a half years of undergrad and three years in a master’s degree program, saved bottle caps (bottle caps are the standard currency in Fallout). He eventually totaled 11.2 pounds of caps, which he then sent in several boxes to game makers Bethesda as payment for the preorder. Bethesda accepted GatorMacheteJr’s bottle caps as legal tender. “They told me since I was the first person to do this, I would be receiving a copy of the game this November," he explained. "I just wanted to say 'thank you' to everyone who helped in making this happen," he added. "People were simultaneously worried about my rate of drinking (I'm fine, thanks), and were also disappointed in my lack of drinking (I'm fine, thanks). Someone on Imgur even offered to gift me a copy of the game if I didn't get one. So thanks again everyone!" Not only did he get Fallout 4, but he also earned 1.1 million views and 21,836 points.

2 / 15

13 “He used to be in a coma, I used to be fat."

Image Source: Imgur

This dad is doing teamwork right. As his son was improving from a brain injury, he vowed to also improve himself by running to lose weight. “If he's standing, I'm running. He's up to 90 minutes and I'm down 70 lbs,” wrote Stink3y3. The image reached 3.6 million views and 26,432 points and appeared in Runner’s World magazine, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, NBC, and Sports Illustrated. Best of all, it inspired people all over the world to get up and do something great for themselves.

3 / 15

12 Cat’s reaction when its owner comes home

Behold the highest scoring cat post of the whole year! This excited kitty who would give anything to see its human proves that cats may not be the heartless murder machines we thought. This feline’s glass cage of emotion was viewed 7.3 million times and earned 25,741 points.

4 / 15

11 Netflix and Chill

Image Source: Imgur

The Internet did it again — the phrase “Netflix and chill” blew up this year, appearing in memes, videos, hilarious reactions, and some of the best posts on Imgur. (In case you missed it, it’s a euphemism for hooking up.) In September, vrpowell2000 personified the saying by donning this hilarious costume and bringing the joke to life. The image reached 3.3 million and scored 17,793 points, all while giving thousands of people a great Halloween costume idea.

5 / 15

10 A Trip to Puerto Rico

Image Source: Imgur

Imgurian Widgetdude won what was supposed to be a dream trip to Puerto Rico, but he went from elated winner to saddest tourist ever when his wife couldn’t join him on the trip. To show how much he missed her, he took pictures everywhere he went, wearing a miserable expression and claiming not to have had “one single second of fun.” The original post was seen 2.5 million times around the web, sparking Puerto Rico to invite him on a second trip, this time with his wife and child in tow, effectively turning the frown upside down. “It’s crazy how much this has blown up,” said Widgetdude. “I’m really glad it’s made some people laugh.”

6 / 15

9 Life as a Suicide Hotline Responder

Image Source: Imgur

One of Imgur’s most interesting trends this year was stories from the workplace, in which Imgurians from all walks of life shared inside looks into their professions and hobbies, giving us a glimpse into the most hilarious, heartfelt, and cringeworthy moments that come along with any job. The highest scoring of these, coming in at 17,676 points, has been this post about life as a suicide hotline responder, which struck chords with so many who have been affected by suicide and inspired others to share their stories in the comments. “I don't think too many kids say they want to be a suicide hotline responder when they grow up,” wrote CharlesJacobs. “We have all been touched by suicide in one way or another and we know there is a light on the other side of those desperate thoughts. Someone pulled us through. We're paying it forward and hope someday you will be able to as well.”

7 / 15

8 Confused Travolta: MRW I ask my daughter what she wants for Christmas and she says, "A doll."

There's nothing more satisfying than a perfectly executed reaction GIF, and this year John Travolta took the cake in what might be his best work yet. The Confused Travolta GIF gained popularity earlier this year when ILikeToWonkaMyWilly posted this rendition, which saw over 5.7 million views. OP then proceeded to break down the barriers of GIF creation by posting a follow-up tutorial on how to very easily make your own. Thousands of creators flooded Imgur with ingenious Confused Travolta reactions, ranging from the obvious ("MRW no one tells me class is canceled") to the incredibly detailed ("MRW I bought a new suit but can't find the person to validate my parking") to the meta ("MRW Javert is no longer the most popular meme"). The GIF has far surpassed the usual lifetime of a meme and is still going strong. May he be confused forever.

8 / 15

7 Caitlyn's Comeback

Image Source: Imgur

The comeback story of the year goes to Caitlyn the dog. In May, she was found as a stray in Charleston, SC, with electrical tape around her muzzle and in critical condition. The Internet rose to help locate the perpetrator, who was eventually found and arrested. All year long Imgurians posted updates about Caitlyn to the tune of 1.8 million combined views. The best part is that Caitlyn not only healed with amazing success, but also sparked thousands of dollars in donations for animal charities and an increased awareness of animal abuse. We love a happy ending!

9 / 15

6 Cera Please

Image Source: Imgur

Michael Cera of Arrested Development fame saw more screen time on Imgur this year than he did in Hollywood. It all started when one photo of the ultimate awkward celebrity sporting a mustache and a red beanie went viral. Imgurians began editing his face onto other faces, hiding it in GIFs, and eventually no popular post was safe from the Cera. What started as an Imgur inside joke quickly spread through the Internet, however, when the trend was picked up by news sources around the web. People even began donating to the annual Movember charity in the name of Cera, racking up $3,000 for men’s health. To date, all Cera posts have been viewed on Imgur over 15 million times, but it all started here with this badly photoshopped Cera Lisa.

10 / 15

5 Guy falling for 9 seconds while trying to shovel snow

The simplest things in life can sometimes be the hardest. This man’s unfortunate moment with snow shoveling, dubbed “a real life infomercial” by one commenter, was viewed a whopping 32.3 million times. In true Internet fashion, his fall was photoshopped into countless spinoffs that gained millions of views on their own, including “guy dancing at the club for 9-seconds,” “guy scoring a goal for 9-seconds, and “guy joining the Breakfast Club for 9-seconds.”

11 / 15

4 Sh*tty Charmander

Image Source: Imgur

On April 14, 2015, this image was published to Imgur with the title, “My friend was drunk and on Xanax when he decided to tattoo a black face Charmander with no experience or artistic ability. The flame saves it.” The lizard-like creature aptly nicknamed “Sh*tty Charmander” quickly garnered 4.6 million views, solidifying one man’s bad decision as one of the most viral trends of the year. Sh*tty Charmander began appearing everywhere. From hilarious parody images and GIFs to games to original artwork to merchandise to Halloween costumes, nowhere on or offline was safe from the black-faced lizard.

12 / 15

3 Lakeside Cleanup

Image Source: Imgur

Every now and then a post comes along that really inspires some good in the world. This year that post came from PigsWeGetWhatPigsDeserve, the Imgurian who spent a little bit of time every day cleaning up a Dutch riverbank during his commute. In the end, he’d cleared 22 full garbage bags of trash and inspired people all over the world to start their own cleanup projects, resulting in hundreds of pounds of trash cleared from rivers and trails! He now manages a Facebook page to spread awareness of people’s cleanup stories. “It’s really something. We get messages from all over the world: Thailand, Korea, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Brazil, Greece, Bolivia, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Finland, The UK, Norway, The Netherlands and so on,” he wrote. The municipal government even asked him to expand the project and is looking to allocate funds to do just that.

13 / 15

2 Love Wins

Image Source: Imgur

Earlier this year, in a long-sought victory for the marriage equality movement, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. In an amazing expression of humanity, the entire Internet came together for an emotional celebration of love and equality following the decision. Even the White House celebrated love with this powerful image that racked up 2.1 million views and 13,652 points on Imgur, easily solidifying itself as one of the best moments of 2015. One commenter even said, "Thanks to this, I came out to my parents today."

14 / 15

1 Poor Pluto

Did you ever think we'd live in a world where satellites could send HD images of Pluto back to Earth in no time flat? It's pretty amazing, but the only one not rejoicing is Pluto. After being officially demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet, it once again had its cold, icy heart broken this year when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by and didn’t even stop for a visit. Pluto’s loss was our gain, however, because New Horizons sent back the first color images of the former planet, revealing that Pluto has an ice cap and is larger than everyone originally thought. The images and reactions to the images took over the Internet, but none captured the collective feelings better than this GIF from Imgurian BennuBird that gained 4.1 million views and 16,204 points.

15 / 15