If Helen of Troy had the face that launched a thousand ships, then Grumpy Cat was the face that launched a thousand memes.
Before Kermit and Evil Kermit (always handily accurate), Distracted Boyfriend and Success Kid, Grumpy Cat was the feline meme who won our heartswith her ability to be both cute and relentlessly well...grumpy. Grumpy Cat is a mood, and we could all relate to it - indeed, who knows if the meme industry would even exist without her at the helm?
And so it is with a heavy heart that the internet was informed today that Grumpy Cat (real name Tardar Sauce) has sadly passed away aged 7 years. The Snowshoe Siamese, who was born with a genetic defect that cause her distinct underbite reportedly died following complications from a urinary tract infection. While we're all mourning the loss (we had some great tagging times with you, Grumpy Cat) there's no denying that the feline left an impressive legacy after soaring to fame when her owner's brother posted a picture of her on Reddit.
In fact - not to get you down on a Friday - but in just 7 years the internet-famous cat has achieved more than probably a lot of us will in an entire lifetime. Such is the age that we live in, that at the time of her death Grumpy Cat has amassed 2.4 million Instagram followers, starred in her own film, and achieved a net-worth of £64 million. Yes, £64 million... we'll let that sink in for a second.
R.I.P Tardar Sauce who has seen us through Brexit, through Trump, through David Bowie's death and theinception of Love Island with some much-needed stoic humor. And in the meantime here's a round up of everything that happened in Grumpy Cat's lifetime...
Brexit
On the 23rd of June 2016, Britain voted to leave the EU. On the 17th of May 2019, we still haven't (6 million of us did, however, sign a petition for a second referendum).
Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Met, Married, And Became Parents To Archie Harrison Mountbatten - Windsor
In 2016 Prince Harry met actress Meghan Markle - now, just three years later they are now married, with their first child Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Donald J. Trump Became President Of The United States
Donald Trump became president of the United States, taking over from Barack Obama on January the 20th, 2017. And we've all definitely seen a sub-section of Grumpy Cat memes dedicated to this specific event...
David Bowie Died
During Grumpy Cat's lifetime we lost several musical legends - among them David Bowie (who passed away in January 2016), Prince and George Michael.
Love Island (The Non Celeb Version!) Was Invented
And our social lives have never been the same - after just two series of Celebrity Love Island ran 2015-20016, the first UK episode of the current incarnation of Love Island aired on the 7th of June 2015, marking the moment we all started cancelling actual, real life plans between June-August to watch other peoples relationship drama's (nope, still no regrets).
Alexa Was Invented
So many homes have robot-assistants now that it seems like they've been around for a while, right? Think again: Alexa was invented in November 2015, just five years ago when Grumpy Cat was just two years old (but already a viral sensation).
Same-Sex Marriage Is Now Legal In All Of The Following Countries
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom now all recognize same-sex marriage by law.
David Cameron Was Accused Of Indecent Activity With Erm... A Pigs Head
Back in the days when David Cameron was Prime Minister of the UK, in September 2015 the Daily Mail published an uncorroborated story suggesting that the politician had put a 'private part of his anatomy' into a dead pig's mouth. The incident allegedly occurred during Cameron's time at Oxford University, as part of an initiation for the elitist Bullingdon society.
Almost Everybody Died On Game Of Thrones (Spoiler Alerts)
Since it's inception as an HBO series in 2011, we have lost 90% of the Starks - mostly in the Red Wedding massacre (remaining in the final season are Arya, Sansa, Jon and Bran), Daenerys' brother who no-one cared about anyway, Joffrey who we definitely didn't care about, both Jaime and Cersei Lannister, two dragons, we could go on but we would be going for a long time....
Kylie Jenner Became The Biggest Kardashian On Instagram
In the last few years we've seen Kylie blossom from the cute-younger-Kardashian-sister to a beauty mogul, a self-madeForbes list billionnaire and mother of Stormi Webster.
The 8th Amendment Was Passed In Ireland
On the 25th of May 2018 in Ireland, a 67% vote saw the long-standing constitutional ban on abortion abolished in the country. The change was signed into law on the 18th of September 2018.