Shelf Life

The amount of time for which a meme is considered "spicy", or in other terms, trending. Based on the amount of time something will last before it decomposes, but with regards to memes. Memes have varying shelf lives, lasting from a few days to perhaps even a few months, depending in its spice factor. If a meme goes beyond this point, it is considered dead. Although they may undergo impromptu resurrection (lasting a week at the most), all memes will reach their graveyard and respective gravestones and cannot return to the internet shelf. The shelf life of a meme is not entirely accurate or precise. Memes can be shoved off the shelf faster than the shelf life predicts, thereby accelerating it far beyond expected through use of external factors. For example, if Weird Al parodies it, or Facebook user (particularly Facebook moms) post it to the general public, then the meme dies faster and the shelf life is decreased exponentially. This is mostly unpredictable. Shelf life is considered the best way to judge the lasting effects of memes (good or bad).