What is This “Meme” Thing, and Where’d It Come from, Already?

Hey, are you an internet newbie? Puzzled at these things called "memes" all those Grizzled Internet Veterans are chuckling over? Well, you're on your own there, buckee. What we can do is hip you as to where these memes originated.

Most of these, in the fine internet tradition, have burned brightly and already flamed out, resigned to the great recycle file in the internet sky...net.

So, when your uncle posts "hello, this is dog" or that still from that one show your kids used to like with some joke scrawled across it that you really don't get, here is your absolutely useless answer key...