Few cultural touchstones are as universally beloved as The Lord of the Rings.

Such is its cultural impact that even casual fans can appreciate just how much it has stood the test of time. Tolkien didn’t know what he was getting into when he first published The Hobbit nearly ninety years ago; its anniversary is next week. The world that he imagined went from being a simple children’s tale to a fully fleshed-out fantasy land that became something almost anybody could reference at ease, as well as enjoy as a standalone story.

As the dedicated fandom knows, it is only natural to return to this tale again and again. The quest to destroy the One Ring and everything that means for Middle-earth is simply too compelling to only go over once. Between Tolkien’s writing and Peter Jackson’s much-lauded interpretation of it, there is always more to discover when it comes to reading and watching LOTR.

While it is hard to tire of the official works, it would be a waste to enjoy all things Middle-earth in this day and age and not have a fine-tuned appreciation for the many memes that it inspires. With lore this rich, it is inevitable that it was always going to spill over into a prolific strain of internet humor. Sometimes it riffs on the story itself, and other times, it appreciates how we can apply lines and scenarios from LOTR to situations in real life. The world of Tolkien lends itself to this diversity, and the fans know how to make the most of it.