A decade ago, on March 21, 2006, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey posted 24 of the most important characters to ever hit the internet: "just setting up my twttr." Before that, a tweet didn't exist, the little blue bird wasn't a globally recognised logo, and Kanye had never said anything insulting online (not to our knowledge, at least).
Now, it's hard to imagine where certain celebrities, politicians, and athletes would be without the social network. It not only created a direct line of connection between public figures and their fans, it also changed the very basis of how we communicate with each other. By limiting our communication to a mere 140 characters, our generation has learned to compress its thoughts in an incredibly succinct way — or just go on a Twitterstorm when your thoughts can't be confined.
Over the past few years, though, Twitter moved beyond being just a network for sharing thoughts and links. Now, it's a news source, digital networking space, catalyst for social movements, and loudspeaker for the rest of the internet. Never before has 140 characters felt so momentous and, in many cases, limiting.
While our first tweets may have been lacking (Kim Kardashian's is a gem), there have been numerous times when tweets completely shook up the world around us.
Click through for 15 of the most ridiculous, groundbreaking, and crazy tweets from the past 10 years.
Maybe not the best photo ever, but this is certainly one of the best photos ever with some of the best people ever. Props to Meryl for squeezing in-between J Law and Ellen.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
We know phone calls are old school, but this tweet to award a Nobel Prize made that reality all the more true.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Choosing from among Trump's many tweets was a challenge, but this was one of a series of bizarre, Twilight -centric tweets. Does anyone know why Trump cares so much about Robert Pattinson?
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Caitlyn Jenner's first tweet was a moving introduction to the world.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Love is love: In 140 characters, Obama summed up one of the most joyful, momentous moments of all time.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
This man's Twitter proposal was supposedly the first — and certainly not the last — to grace the site. It's definitely a 21st-century take on romance.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Nothing celebrates landing on Mars more than the tweet that marked the occasion.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Never before had a hashtag launched a massive social movement: This was one of the earliest tweets to set Occupy Wall Street in motion.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
A tweet could also set off a massive scandal, as Anthony Weiner famously discovered after accidentally tweeting a sext, thinking he had DMed it. At least he has a sense of humour about the whole thing.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Even the royals got on board: the Prince of Wales' private office created an account to honour Prince William's engagement.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
The CIA might have been late to the Twitter party, but its first tweet proved that it can have a sense of humour online.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
President Obama called the nation's attention to Wendy Davis' filibuster and showed the White House's support for a woman's right to choose. The public followed with supportive #StandWithWendy tweets of its own.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Sadly, Kanye has deleted many of his most infamous tweets (remember "Sometimes I get emotional about fonts"?), but plenty of entertaining ones continue to be posted. Take this one, where he waxes philosophical to the rest of the world.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
Oh, Alec Baldwin. In what was one of the most famous Twitter rants of all time, the actor lashed out at American Airlines after being kicked off a flight for refusing to stop playing Words With Friends.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.
One Direction fans are a mighty force on Twitter. To put this tweet in perspective, it had over 50,000 more retweets than President Obama's #LoveWins tweet.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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