The Internet-Breaking Pop Culture Moments of 2021 (So Far!) 

Logan Paul Survives Floyd Mayweather
What on earth is going on in men’s boxing? In June, YouTube supernova Logan Paul somehow survived eight rounds with Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, the ‘Bragging Rights’ fight taking place at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida. 

While the world held its collective breath for a KO, the 5-division world champion Mayweather was unable to land the defining blow, Paul using both his height and size to advantage. 

Still, both fighters cashed-in, the fight reportedly bringing in over one million pay-per-views. What does this mean in monetary figures? Logan Paul recently told TMZ he made around $20 million from the fight. Mayweather, on the other hand, pocketed a $10 million base salary and 50 per cent of the pay-per-view shares. 

Yikes! How much cold hard cash would you demand before taking a Mayweather hook?

The Suez Canal Meme 
Who would’ve thought a 22,000-ton container ship would become the defining meme of 2021? Wedging itself in Egypt’s Suez Canal (one of the highest traffic waterways in the world), the Ever Given became a prodigious meme-machine in March, the image proliferating on social media in various political and self-depreciative guises. 

Just how big was the ship? According to CNN, it was roughly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. Yes, at 1,312-feet-long, the Suez Canal container ship carried the weight of the world in March, the unwieldy, awkward vessel arguably becoming the hilarious embodiment of us all. 

Mare of Easttown 
Kate Winslet put on the performance of a lifetime as Marianne (Mare) Sheehan, a police detective in smalltown Pennsylvania. Attempting to investigate a brutal murder, Mare captivated viewers with her foul-mouthed, hard-boiled, vape-smoking screen presence, the seven-part series quickly becoming HBO’s latest must-watch. 

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Confess Their Love 
Two of the prettiest people on planet earth finally confessed their love for each other this year. Immediately catapulting to the upper echelon of power couples, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are both owning the fashion and beauty sweepstakes in 2021, Rocky becoming the first-ever guest artistic director of Pacsun, while Fenty was recently praised for its more inclusive marketing. 

Now, that’s all well and good, but where’s the new music guys? 

The Friends Reunion
Seeing the gang get back together was a shot of much-needed nostalgia to the arm. Airing in May, James Corden revisited some of the iconic moments from Friends’ legendary archive, with Justin Bieber, David Beckham and Cara Delevingne all jumping in on the action. David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston confirmed their off-screen infatuation with each other, while Matt LeBlanc’s sense of humour hasn’t aged a day. 

But the best part? Lady Gaga’s rendition of ‘Smelly Cat’. 

Bernie Sanders’ Mittens 
Another heavyweight meme machine from Vermont, Bernie Sanders’ recycled woolen mittens lit-up the Internet in January, the US senator becoming a sensation at the Joe Biden inauguration. 

Stealing the show from the 46th president of the United States, Bernie’s mittens and insouciant pose quickly took on a life of their own, the former presidential candidate memorably Photoshopped alongside everyone from Forrest Gump to Deadpool.