--- title: Best GIFs Ever description: From Obama's mic drop to Leonardo DiCaprio's expressive eyebrow raise, here are the year's most popular and most expressive GIFs. canonical: https://time.com/4603766/top-gifs-2016/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-22T12:11:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:39:31.934Z og:title: People Couldn't Stop Using These GIFs in 2016 og:description: According to GIPHY, the year's top GIFs from Crying Jordan to a dancing bear. og:url: https://time.com/4603766/top-gifs-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Couldn't Stop Using These GIFs in 2016 twitter:description: According to GIPHY, the year's top GIFs from Crying Jordan to a dancing bear. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # People Couldn't Stop Using These GIFs in 2016 > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=eb996bc6-475b-4d39-a424-01a8aa18768d&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Dec 22, 2016 12:11 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Dec 22, 2016 12:11 PM UTC A picture is worth a thousand words. A moving, repeating picture, however? Well, that’s [worth infinitely more](http://time.com/4275521/gif-photography/?iid=sr-link3). That’s also why GIFs are the viral [communication tool](http://time.com/4165466/gifs-most-popular-year-2015/?iid=sr-link2) the internet can’t get enough of. [GIPHY](http://time.com/4552706/giphy-memes-worth-revenue/?iid=sr-link1) collected the most zeitgeisty looping clips of 2016, from President Obama’s mic drop moment to the friendly waving brown bear that Tinder users apparently love to send and receive in their search for romantic connection. To come up with the ten below, GIPHY’s editorial team surveyed several different factors, including “popularity, views and curation that best reflect the zeitgeist of 2016 in GIF form.” Take a spin through GIPHY’s top ten here: ### 10\. Obama Mic Drop In a politically explosive year, it’s only fitting that GIPHY’s top GIF is the iconic mic drop from the departing president. [Originally an actual thing](http://giphy.com/gifs/mic-drop-peace-out-obama-3o7qDEq2bMbcbPRQ2c) that happened at the White House Correspondents’ dinner, this animated illustration of the moment by GIPHY artist Julie Winegard outpaced the real-life video to score the honor of being GIPHY’s top GIF of the year. ### 9\. 2\. Crying Jordan Perhaps better known as a static meme, Crying Jordan never gets old, especially in motion. ### 8\. 3\. Sloth from Zootopia Originally featured in the _Zootopia_ movie trailer, the sloth’s ever-growing grin (is it of surprise or delight?) is widely applicable to many situations in life. ### 7\. 4\. Unamused Lady It’s not just celebrities and cartoons that catch on: relatable regular people can, too. This GIF, of an unamused woman embodies the feeling in those moments when you just… can’t. ### 6\. 5\. Chris Christie This clip of a random moment of Chris Christie applauding from the Republican National Convention turned out to be the most popular GIF of the whole year’s election cycle, thanks to the New Jersey governor’s lackluster expression. (No word on who exactly was speaking at the moment of this recording.) ### 5\. 6\. Broad City Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are queens of physical comedy and slang catchphrases; in this moment from their popular comedy series, Jacobson’s “yas”-filled enthusiasm speaks volumes (even if the word itself is just one syllable). ### 4\. 7\. Leo and Lady Gaga at the Golden Globes As a regal-looking Lady Gaga walked through the crowd at last winter’s Golden Globes, a moment of pure hilarity ensued when the pop star brushed past Leonardo DiCaprio’s elbow. DiCaprio’s reaction? An Oscar-worthy eyebrow raise, preserved for eternity in this viral GIF. ### 3\. 8\. Hello Bear According to GIPHY, this friendly, non-threatening image of a brown bear waving happily from behind a wire fence was the most popular GIF used on Tinder, the dating app. No word on how well those matches worked out. ### 2\. 9\. People vs. O.J. Simpson Sarah Paulson’s [Emmy-Award-winning turn](http://time.com/4499496/sarah-paulson-marcia-clark-emmys-2/?iid=sr-link2) as lead prosecutor Marcia Clark in the acclaimed TV series _The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story_ also generated this powerful GIF. ### 1\. 10\. “Deal With It” Cat This too-cool-for-school cat presumably helped people deliver some tough love to friends who needed a little reminder that sometimes, life doesn’t always come up rainbows and butterflies. 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