The great beauty of the cultural impact that has come from The Lord of the Rings is that life is filled with Middle-earth related easter eggs, if you know where to look for them. You never know which of your acquaintances might (not so) secretly be a wannabe Hobbit, or when some unrelated piece of pop culture is going to slip in a Tolkien reference for the sake of it. Add to that the entire franchise of movies, games, and TV shows that keep the LOTR universe contemporary and relevant, and there is a lot to get through for dedicated fans.

However, we have to argue that the best spinoff from Tolkien’s most famous works comes in the form of the memes that they have inspired. Taking all of the lore and making it into a juggernaut of light entertainment is arguably one of the greatest achievements of the LOTR fandom.