This year, of all years, we needed a delightfully pointless meme about negronis | Hannah Jane Parkinson

Who knew that a chat about drinks between actors Olivia Cooke and Emma D'Arcy could be so sexy and comforting?

• What was the image on your phone that defined 2022?
  Writers give their perspectives

Negroni. Sbagliato ... with prosecco in it." Before October, it was an occasional order for the more discerning drinker. After October, it became one of the most Googled phrases in the world, the words stitched into caps and sweatshirts, the centrepiece of millions of social media views, calling card of LGBT people worldwide.

One of the greatest things about the internet is its ability to transform seemingly innocuous or quotidian happenings into sources of deep intrigue, scandal or hilarity. It is, along with the acquisition of legitimate knowledge, what the internet is good for. It's what makes it worthwhile, just when you think the rightwing trolls and people who copy tweets word-for-word are winning.