From wikipedia: "The word "meme" is a neologism coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins occuring in 'The Selfish Gene' to describe how one might extend Darwinian principles to explain the spread of and cultural phenomena.

He gave as examples melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious belief, clothing/fashion, and the technology of building arches). The concept that spread according to genetic rules predates the coining by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene; for example William S. Burroughs asserted that "language is a virus".

Either way, it doesn't really matter when it all started, but more about what have been the 'current' memes over the past 16 or so years - this awesome map illustrates the timeline of one of modern cultures more intresting habits - ENJOY :)

FOND DU LAC, Wis: A 54-year-old man says OCD drove him to eat a burger nearly every day since 1972 - Talk about a Big Mac attack! Don Gorske says he has eaten 23,000 of the burgers in 36 years.

The Fond du Lac man said he hit the 23,000 milestone last month, continuing a culinary obsession that began May 17, 1972, and is fed by his obsessive-compulsive disorder. "I enjoy them every day," said Gorske, 54. "I need two to fill me up."

He used to order fries every day in the 1980s but began to cut back in the '90s, now eating them about once a month. He eats two Big Macs and two parfaits a day. Gorske has written a book about his experience.

He's obviously 'Lovin It'