When the coronavirus first capsized civilization in March 2020, laughter seemed like a good way to cope with the situation, and the internet was quickly awash in gallows humor. Some of it was funny, some of it was mostly a groan: Memers and other social-media joksters imagined things like Will Smith from the apoclyptic I Am Legend film headed on a Costco run, and a husband pranking a wife about a case of corona in the neighborhood, which turns out to be Corona beer in the fridge. Oscar Wilde they were not, but they succeeded in diverting our attention from the wild times for a stretch.
“I don’t think it’s telling a funny joke about a deadly disease—you’re telling a joke about dealing with a deadly disease,” Adam Padilla, the creator of @adam.the.creator, a popular Instagram meme account, said back then.
It seems like we could use a similar dose of laughter now, too. Covid-19 cases are once again spiking, up 76% from two weeks ago, driven by the highly infectious delta variant, according to the New York Times’ Covid tracker. And a recent Gallup poll showed just how many Americas are feeling down in the mouth: 45% of respondents told Gallup they think the coronavirus situation in the U.S. is getting worse, a notable change from June when 89% said things were getting better.
So here’s a little cheer, courtesy of a popular Twitter meme this week where people including Mariah Carey and Snoop Dogg cracked wised about their possibly (likely?) ruined their autumnal plans. Some of the best ones below:
