20 Things We Had To Explain To Our Parents In 2024

Haliey Welch stopped for a man-on-the-street interview to answer.She stopped when asked“What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?”

Welch replied,

Give them that “hawk tuah” sound and spit on that thing!

Welch did not expect the passerby’s response to make her an overnight viral sensation, but that is what happened. The internet liked her “hawk tuah” reference, and she soon became known as “hawk tuah girl.”

Welch did not feel thrilled about gaining national fame for her link to a sex act, but Welchaccepted the publicityand embraced new chances:

I do not have to eat at Taco Bell anymore. But I still do.

The question “Man or bear?” became both a joke and a dark check on women's safety in 2024. It began when a TikTok accountSeven women asked.: If you are alone in the forest, would you rather meet a bear or a man? Six of the seven women chose the bear over the male stranger; this majority opinion grew as more women responded.

Women's strong feeling to face a dangerous wild predator they do not know versus a random guy was sudden and funny. The reasons given also showed a worrying lack of trust and basic safety many women have around men or in daily life. One user wrote, “I know a bear's intentions… I do not know a man's intentions. No matter how nice they are.” Another explained, “No one will ask me if I led the bear on or give me a guide on bear attack prevention tips.”

Stephen Nedoroscik, nicknamed “Pommel Horse Guy,” becameA breakout star.of the Paris Olympics after his 40-second routine secured the bronze medal for the US Men's Gymnastics team, the first since 2008.

Nedoroscik gained internet attention after people often showed him on the sidelines, solving a Rubik's cube or looking like he was napping, waiting for his chance. As one user put it:

Obsessed with this guy on the US men's gymnastics team… He just sits there until he is activated like a sleeper agent, removes his glasses like Clark Kent, and performs a pommel horse routine that helps the team win its first medal in 16 years.

Following “Brat summer” came “very demure, very mindful,” a phrase created by content creator Jools Lebron on TikTok. While “brat” is messy without apology, the “demure” and “mindful” trend mocks the opposite—modest, shy, feminine ideas. Lebron first posted,

You see how I do my make-up for work? Very demure, very mindful… Many of you girls go to the interview looking like Marge Simpson and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma. Not demure.

Much of the internet joined the joke, ironically applying it to extreme actions or labeling intentions in random situations. For example, NASA described,

Earth looks very demure in space. It appears mindful. Earth looks cute in the solar system.

Moo Deng, a pygmy hippopotamus at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, became an international sensation after images went viral. Facebook voters chose her name. Moo Deng kept growing up as the...The world watched what...Today's Hoda Kotb called...herShe has chubby pink cheeks, a distinct potato shape.

Moo Deng lacked teeth at first. This did not stop her from playfully biting her handlers in cute ways. Devoted fans reported this on social media.She appears on social media.debuted her new choppers to excited audiences. Thousands visited Moo Deng. The zoo started efforts to patent and trademark...“Moo Deng the hippo,” and endangered species activists hope to teach people about helping animals under threat using Moo Deng's fame.“Moo Deng the hippo,” and endangered species activists hope to teach people about helping animals under threat using Moo Deng's fame.

Justin Timberlake saw his fall from grace cemented in 2024. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated. His mugshot quickly became a...This is meme-ified., so did his reported exchange with the police officer. According...A source shows this.forPage Six:

The cop did not know who he was at first. Justin said under his breath, “This is going to ruin the tour.” The cop replied, “What tour?” Justin said, “The world tour.”

That bleak comment referenced Timberlake's The Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which planned a comeback.

Flavor Flav, known for his 2006 reality dating seriesFlavor of Love, got a comeback as the fairy godmother of the Paris Olympics.

After Flav learned that the...US Women's Water Polo teamstruggled to make ends meet. Flav stepped in as Team USA's official sponsor. He used his signature time piece and a water polo cap at the games. He stated he would always support women and women's sports as a girl dad.

The rapper made further comments.These comments created heartwarming headlines.He spoke about this throughout the games, such as when hechipped intoward track and field athlete Veronica Fraley's rent.

What are the kids doing now? The answer, "Skibidi Toilet," makes you regret asking. "Skibidi Toilet" isan extremely viral and popular YouTube seriescreated by 23-year-old animator Alexey Gerasimov. The series shows a war between human-headed toilets and humanoids with electronic device heads.

Gen Alpha likes the series. Parents find it grotesque, inappropriate, or too weird. (CNN compares it to “an older ‘Baby Shark’ crossed with dystopia and a dash of Stephen King.”) But Skibidi Toilet has over 17 billion views. Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay are reportedly developing it for film and television.

"Skibidi"Skibidi Toilet became slang for nonsense filler. It is a gibberish utterance from Bulgarian singer Biser King’s “Dom Dom Yes Yes,” a remix of which serves as the series theme song.

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker got fifteen minutes of controversy this year because of his anger-inducing action.Butker gave his commencement speech at Benedictine College, a private Catholic school in Kansas.Butker spoke at Benedictine College, a private Catholic school in Kansas.

Butker used his speech to state political and religious views against abortion and gay rights, addressing the female graduates.

Butker said, "I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you… Some of you may lead successful careers, but I guess most are excited about marriage and the children you will have. My wife Isabelle would say her life truly began when she started living as a wife and mother."

Some defended Butker's comments. Many found them misogynistic, patronizing, and a weak way to celebrate degree-holders. Backlash came from graduates, nuns at the college, and the internet.The internet reacted to Butker's comments.Some women trolled the Chief's social media posts. They wrote, “I wish I could watch but my husband says I have to stay in the kitchen”; and “I’m sorry could someone read this to me. I’m a woman and I only learned birthing and cooking.”

The NFL stated Butker's views belonged only to him. The organization issued a statement saying it is "steadfast in our commitment to inclusion." Butker's other famous teammates, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, also said they admired him as a teammate but did not share many of his views.Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes expressed that while they respected Butker as a teammate, they do not share many of his views.

The "Willy's Chocolate Experience" in Glasgow, Scotland, aimed to show the fun and magic of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its movie adaptations.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.The "Willy's Chocolate Experience" became the Fyre Festival of 2024. Movie fans and families met a barren warehouse.The event featured lackluster cosplayers likened to a "meth lab." One father who brought his children to the event said, “There were maybe 20 chairs, a couple of tables and a half-inflated bouncy castle.” Police were called for unknown reasons, and the event ended on Saturday before its full weekend run.The Willy Wonka Experience featured lackluster cosplayers compared to a 'meth lab.' One father said, 'There were maybe 20 chairs, a couple of tables, and a half-inflated bouncy castle.' Police called the event for unknown reasons, and it ended Saturday before the full weekend plan.

The event went viral with sad photos of a dejected-looking Oompa Loompa. A hired actor argued, 'In some ways, it was a world of imagination, like imagine there is a whole chocolate factory here,' but admitted, 'I spoke to the people running it and thought, surely by morning it won’t look like this, and then I turned up in the morning and it absolutely did.'

To let a person cook.

Tolet a person cookLet them do what they do. If a spectator analyzes Simone Biles's routine for errors, you say, “Let her cook!”

Rapper Lil B started the phrase. He uses “cooking” in his lyrics to mean his rap skills.

Charli XCX dropped her lime-green-coveredThis is a dance pop album., Brat, in June 2024, Charli XCX began a movement. “Brat summer” launched, where women adopted a look matching the high-energy party album: messy, carefree, feral, hedonistic, with a touch of 2000s middle school. Charli XCX called her album, “me, my flaws, my f--- ups, my ego all rolled into one.”

Being “brat” means wearing sunglasses indoors, sleeping with glitter makeup on, eating flaming hot Cheetos in bed, or leaving a club. It can also be a vibe, like “Kamala is brat,” which came from Harris's viral clip, see: Kamala's Coconut Tree.

The Netflix docuseries has over 16 million views as of July.Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult The series caused a viral scandal that spread much wider.A true crime storyThe alleged “TikTok Cult” involves popular TikTok dancers and influencers under the questionable talent management company and church led by Robert Shinn.

Miranda Wilking was a key dancer. She shared an account dancing with her sister, Melanie. After users saw Miranda missing from the account, Melanie and her parents livestreamed. They explained they had little contact with Miranda after she joined 7M and Shekinah (Shinn's company and church), which they see as a cult.

After the docuseries exploded, the influencer sistersexchanged back and forth responses. Miranda denied being in a cult. She said her family did not support her religious path, calling the doc a “one-sided story” and “public attack.” Melanie replied that Miranda and husband James Derrick declined offers to share their side in the series. She added she would be wary of her sister's religious journey if it meant joining a cult.

After President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Kamala Harris became the Democratic candidate. A soundbite from a speech she gave the year before went viral: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”

Harris made the remarks at the swearing-in of commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. While making a larger point about considering young people in their communities, Harris said, “nothing exists in a silo.”

My mother sometimes gave us a hard time. She said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” You exist in the context of everything around you and what came before.

Memes and TikToks featuring coconut trees exploded.

Socks, specifically their length, caused millennials and Gen Z to take sides in 2024. This is not the first fashion trend to cause a fight between these generations.

The theoryfirst appeared on TikTok.People tell which generation someone belongs to by sock length. Gen Z likes crew socks, going up mid-calf or rolled. Millennials usually wear ankle socks or "no show" socks.

Millennials can remember when high socks felt uncool. Even though the trend flipped, many millennials refuse to change their sock choices.Matt Bellassai, a comedian, posted on TikTok, “You will pry these ankle socks off my cold, dead feet.”Comedian Matt Bellassai posted on TikTok, “You will pry these ankle socks off my cold, dead feet.” This describes the theory on their sock choices.

“Rodent man” became the 2024 label for male celebrities.These men are considered sexy despite not looking conventionally attractive.Someone decided several of these men looked like mice or rats.The New York Times.The New York Times defined a rodent man as:

It is an unconventional mousy man with a toothy smile. His face is more pointy than chiseled like Brad Pitt or Chris Hemsworth. Angular faces are the giveaway. Big ears also come across as edgy and elusive.

Jeremy Allen White, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor, and Matt Healy are notable stars dubbed "rodent men."

BabygirlThis term is slang.Babygirl does not mean a girl or woman. It refers to an attractive male celebrity or fictional character seen as sensitive and vulnerable, not traditionally "macho." Take, for example,This YouTube videoThe video is titled “Pedro Pascal being BABYGIRL for 3 min straight.”

The trend flips the term "babygirl." Men use it for women, as an affectionate, though sometimes infantilizing, term.

The millennial pause is Gen Z's way to identify and maybe mock millennials. A millennial first spotted this, just like ankle socks.

AsThe Atlantic The Atlantic cuttingly put it“The first generation to grow up with social media, Millennials are now becoming the first generation to age out of it.” This phrase describes a millennial content creator pausing briefly at the start of a video, like a throwback to the clunkier technology of the '90s.

Gen Z-ers know maximizing every second of a short video matters, so they have pause-less TikToks. They start talking right away while setting up the camera, known as the “Gen Z shake.”

Late in 2024, a new dating trend started.This new trend is called "snowmanning."The name shows the winter timing. It also tells you the meaning.

Snowmanning suggests a romantic or sexual partner lasts only one day. They then disappear. One-third of Brits who had casual sex said they were ignored the next day. This trend grew popular in the United Kingdom.

Medical experts worried about more STIs following the rise of snowmanning.

Sologamy is the trend of marrying yourself in a symbolic ceremony. This is not a legal marriage. The act shows self-love and completeness.Pop star Britney Spears.Britney Spears made headlines in 2024 after posting on Instagram.Instagram.She posted that she married herself, calling it "the most brilliant thing [she's] ever done!!!"

Some celebrate this act as showing dedication to oneself.Some critics accuse this practice of being narcissistic and needless.Some critics accuse the practice of being narcissistic and unnecessary.