2020 Cant Get Any Worse

2020Image macro / exploitabledead

Also known as: #2020WorstYear

2020 Cant Get Any Worse is a 2020 image-macro meme format where users predicted increasingly catastrophic and absurd disasters for each upcoming month, fueling dark comedy across Reddit and Twitter.

"2020 Can't Get Any Worse" is a meme format from early 2020 built around the running joke that each new month would bring a fresh catastrophe worse than the last2. Starting on Reddit and Twitter during a stretch that included US-Iran military tension, World War 3 fears, and the COVID-19 outbreak, the format had users predicting increasingly absurd apocalyptic events for upcoming months2. The meme defined the dark comedy mood of 2020 internet culture and kept finding new material as the year refused to let up.

2020 memescovid 19 memesdark humor memesexploitable templatesapocalypse disaster memes

Overview

The format follows a simple structure: someone declares that 2020 can't possibly get worse, and then the next month arrives with something even more terrifying2. Punchlines typically drew from pop culture, using images of fictional catastrophes like alien invasions, video game bosses, or movie villains to represent what April (and later months) might bring2. The joke worked because 2020 genuinely kept delivering new crises at a relentless pace, making each prediction feel more plausible than it should have.

The exact first use of the format is unclear, but Reddit users started making "April 2020" prediction memes as early as February 20202. One of the earliest viral examples came on February 29th, 2020, when Redditor Jackmcswag22 posted to r/memes with the title "Ok it's happening, and we have to adapt"2. The post framed the COVID-19 outbreak as just the latest entry in 2020's disaster lineup and earned nearly 43,000 upvotes and 330 comments2.

By late February, it was already obvious that March would be dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, so users jumped ahead to speculate about what horrors April might hold2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (earliest viral examples), Twitter (major spread)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2020

The exact first use of the format is unclear, but Reddit users started making "April 2020" prediction memes as early as February 2020. One of the earliest viral examples came on February 29th, 2020, when Redditor Jackmcswag22 posted to r/memes with the title "Ok it's happening, and we have to adapt". The post framed the COVID-19 outbreak as just the latest entry in 2020's disaster lineup and earned nearly 43,000 upvotes and 330 comments.

By late February, it was already obvious that March would be dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, so users jumped ahead to speculate about what horrors April might hold.

How It Spread

The meme picked up serious traction in mid-March 2020 as more platforms joined in. On March 15th, Redditor Oofsworth posted a version depicting April 2020 as the Wither Storm from Minecraft, earning over 39,000 upvotes and multiple Reddit awards.

Twitter users brought their own spin the following day. On March 16th, user ryan xavier posted a tweet using Naruto's "Almighty Push" looming on the horizon as April 2020, pulling in over 1,000 retweets and 2,300 likes. That same day, user secretlyyourfather used a clip from the 2005 film War of the Worlds showing a tripod invading Earth, which grabbed over 10,000 retweets and 23,000 likes.

On March 17th, Redditor CapnChiknNugget posted a version to r/dankmemes using a shot of the Q-Ship from Avengers: Infinity War invading New York City. That post received nearly 37,000 upvotes.

The format kept going well past spring. By August 2020, the meme got a fresh wave when rumors spread that the Annabelle doll had escaped from the Warrens' Occult Museum. The hoax started after someone edited Annabelle's Wikipedia page to claim she "escaped in the early morning hours of August 14". Screenshots of the edit went viral, and Twitter users immediately folded the rumor into the "2020 can't get worse" format. One popular tweet by @ridalolthatsme read "Me: 2020 can't get worse than now. Annabelle:" alongside a reaction image.

The panic cooled after Tony Spera, the museum's current owner, posted a YouTube video confirming the doll was still in its glass case. "I don't know if you want to hear this or not, but Annabelle did not escape," Spera said, standing in front of the enclosure. The debunking didn't stop the memes. Users kept riffing with jokes about doing Annabelle's hair to avoid getting killed and the doll needing a face mask before leaving the museum.

How to Use This Meme

The format typically works in two beats:

1

Set up the jinx: State that 2020 (or any terrible period) can't possibly get worse.

2

Deliver the punchline: Show an image of something catastrophic, absurd, or terrifying arriving as the "next month" or "next event."

Cultural Impact

The meme captured the collective exhaustion of living through 2020, when a genuine pandemic, economic collapse, and social upheaval hit back-to-back. Each new crisis gave the format fresh material, turning it into a real-time commentary engine for the year's disasters.

The Annabelle escape hoax in August showed how quickly internet humor could absorb even false events into the "worst year" narrative. What started as a Wikipedia vandal's edit became a multi-day meme cycle within hours, complete with sub-jokes about the doll wearing a face mask and escaping into a pandemic.

The hashtag #2020WorstYear trended multiple times on Twitter throughout the year, often spiking alongside new real-world events.

Fun Facts

The February 29th Reddit post that helped popularize the format landed on a leap day, adding an extra layer of "2020 is cursed" energy.

The Annabelle escape hoax originated from a Wikipedia edit, not any actual museum incident.

Museum owner Tony Spera noted he has "high-tech security" and would "instantly know if something happened or somebody broke in," making the escape story logistically impossible.

The War of the Worlds tweet version was one of the highest-performing individual posts, with over 23,000 likes on Twitter.

Frequently Asked Questions

2020 Cant Get Any Worse

2020Image macro / exploitabledead

Also known as: #2020WorstYear

2020 Cant Get Any Worse is a 2020 image-macro meme format where users predicted increasingly catastrophic and absurd disasters for each upcoming month, fueling dark comedy across Reddit and Twitter.

"2020 Can't Get Any Worse" is a meme format from early 2020 built around the running joke that each new month would bring a fresh catastrophe worse than the last. Starting on Reddit and Twitter during a stretch that included US-Iran military tension, World War 3 fears, and the COVID-19 outbreak, the format had users predicting increasingly absurd apocalyptic events for upcoming months. The meme defined the dark comedy mood of 2020 internet culture and kept finding new material as the year refused to let up.

2020 memes covid 19 memes dark humor memes exploitable templates apocalypse disaster memes

Overview

The format follows a simple structure: someone declares that 2020 can't possibly get worse, and then the next month arrives with something even more terrifying. Punchlines typically drew from pop culture, using images of fictional catastrophes like alien invasions, video game bosses, or movie villains to represent what April (and later months) might bring. The joke worked because 2020 genuinely kept delivering new crises at a relentless pace, making each prediction feel more plausible than it should have.

The exact first use of the format is unclear, but Reddit users started making "April 2020" prediction memes as early as February 2020. One of the earliest viral examples came on February 29th, 2020, when Redditor Jackmcswag22 posted to r/memes with the title "Ok it's happening, and we have to adapt". The post framed the COVID-19 outbreak as just the latest entry in 2020's disaster lineup and earned nearly 43,000 upvotes and 330 comments.

By late February, it was already obvious that March would be dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, so users jumped ahead to speculate about what horrors April might hold.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (earliest viral examples), Twitter (major spread)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2020

The exact first use of the format is unclear, but Reddit users started making "April 2020" prediction memes as early as February 2020. One of the earliest viral examples came on February 29th, 2020, when Redditor Jackmcswag22 posted to r/memes with the title "Ok it's happening, and we have to adapt". The post framed the COVID-19 outbreak as just the latest entry in 2020's disaster lineup and earned nearly 43,000 upvotes and 330 comments.

By late February, it was already obvious that March would be dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, so users jumped ahead to speculate about what horrors April might hold.

How It Spread

The meme picked up serious traction in mid-March 2020 as more platforms joined in. On March 15th, Redditor Oofsworth posted a version depicting April 2020 as the Wither Storm from Minecraft, earning over 39,000 upvotes and multiple Reddit awards.

Twitter users brought their own spin the following day. On March 16th, user ryan xavier posted a tweet using Naruto's "Almighty Push" looming on the horizon as April 2020, pulling in over 1,000 retweets and 2,300 likes. That same day, user secretlyyourfather used a clip from the 2005 film War of the Worlds showing a tripod invading Earth, which grabbed over 10,000 retweets and 23,000 likes.

On March 17th, Redditor CapnChiknNugget posted a version to r/dankmemes using a shot of the Q-Ship from Avengers: Infinity War invading New York City. That post received nearly 37,000 upvotes.

The format kept going well past spring. By August 2020, the meme got a fresh wave when rumors spread that the Annabelle doll had escaped from the Warrens' Occult Museum. The hoax started after someone edited Annabelle's Wikipedia page to claim she "escaped in the early morning hours of August 14". Screenshots of the edit went viral, and Twitter users immediately folded the rumor into the "2020 can't get worse" format. One popular tweet by @ridalolthatsme read "Me: 2020 can't get worse than now. Annabelle:" alongside a reaction image.

The panic cooled after Tony Spera, the museum's current owner, posted a YouTube video confirming the doll was still in its glass case. "I don't know if you want to hear this or not, but Annabelle did not escape," Spera said, standing in front of the enclosure. The debunking didn't stop the memes. Users kept riffing with jokes about doing Annabelle's hair to avoid getting killed and the doll needing a face mask before leaving the museum.

How to Use This Meme

The format typically works in two beats:

1

Set up the jinx: State that 2020 (or any terrible period) can't possibly get worse.

2

Deliver the punchline: Show an image of something catastrophic, absurd, or terrifying arriving as the "next month" or "next event."

Cultural Impact

The meme captured the collective exhaustion of living through 2020, when a genuine pandemic, economic collapse, and social upheaval hit back-to-back. Each new crisis gave the format fresh material, turning it into a real-time commentary engine for the year's disasters.

The Annabelle escape hoax in August showed how quickly internet humor could absorb even false events into the "worst year" narrative. What started as a Wikipedia vandal's edit became a multi-day meme cycle within hours, complete with sub-jokes about the doll wearing a face mask and escaping into a pandemic.

The hashtag #2020WorstYear trended multiple times on Twitter throughout the year, often spiking alongside new real-world events.

Fun Facts

The February 29th Reddit post that helped popularize the format landed on a leap day, adding an extra layer of "2020 is cursed" energy.

The Annabelle escape hoax originated from a Wikipedia edit, not any actual museum incident.

Museum owner Tony Spera noted he has "high-tech security" and would "instantly know if something happened or somebody broke in," making the escape story logistically impossible.

The War of the Worlds tweet version was one of the highest-performing individual posts, with over 23,000 likes on Twitter.

Frequently Asked Questions