This year, the Lakeside Community has proven that we’re the undisputed champions of chaos and comedy. With a mix of memes, trends, and words ranging from brilliant to brain cell destroying, this year’s brain rot highlights bring us back to our old Skibidi toilet roots. Let’s break it down into a recap of 2024. 

Brain Rot Word of the Year: Rizz

We interviewed over 50 people, with responses ranging from Chill Guy to Stonks. However, one word had a special place in our hearts. With 22 votes, rizz is the unchallenged victor and takes the lead for the brain rot word of the year. Other contenders? Skibidi followed up with 17 votes. When we asked why, we had answers ranging from “it’s funny to say” to “it’s an OG.” Fanum tax was also a close contender with eight votes because someone told us that tax fraud is quite poetic (for legal reasons, don’t take that seriously). Honorable mention to 37. Although it only had two votes, this number is so arbitrary it deserves its own cult following. 

The Most “Useful” Brain Rot Words

Although it might seem like “useful” and “brain rot” shouldn’t appear together—ever—when it comes to practical brain rot, Lakeside delivers. Students swear by lowkey and cooked, the go-to phrase after a brutal test or embarrassing presentation. But the real MVP? Crash out. An all-purpose phrase for everything: failed assignment, late-night pandemonium, or just the sheer exhaustion of existing. And then there’s underdeveloped frontal cortex, the roast so devastating it’s practically a nuclear option. 

Memes That Refuse to Die

Skibidi Toilet Fanum taxed 16 votes, proving that a dancing toilet from 2023 still holds an unshakable power over us. Aura made its mark on society, with some people trying to find an equation to convert aura to rizz (I was given a lecture on this topic!).  Another student, meanwhile, almost single-handedly ran John Pork memes into the ground by overusing the meme (RIP to the legend). 

We’ve changed, and so has our taste in memes and brain rot. We’ve evolved since the “humble” origins of brain rot and have now branched out to Queen Never Cry, My Face When… (feat. Pepe the King Prawn), and That Feeling When Knee Surgery Is Tomorrow. From Two Steps Ahead (my sleep paralysis demon) to Ashley Look at Me, the Lakeside community has concluded a year of unusually scrumptious creativity. Chat, thank you for reading this swaggalicious skibidi sigma article, and stay weird, Lakeside!