A NEW YEAR, a new craze. Or rather, tons of them.

If 2012 is judged by the crazes that grabbed our imagination, we were a horse-dancing, BB cream-loving, coconut-water drinking bunch who really went wild in the bedroom. Or maybe that’s just TheJournal.ie staff.

Here’s a look at 11 crazes that got us going this year:

Gangnam Style

(officialPSY/YouTube)

Watched by almost a whopping billion people, Psy’s video for K-Pop hit Gangnam Style is a gloriously surreal romp through the mind of a man who knows a good horse-inspired dance move when he sees it. While the phrase ‘Gangnam Style’ means nothing to us Irish, it is really about the wealthy lifestyle of those living in the Gangnam district of Seoul. So when he’s sipping on cocktails and wearing weird shorts in the video, he’s really make a very important point, man. Not coincidentally, this was the year that K-Pop (Korean pop) really started to take off outside of Korea.

50 Shades of Grey

Author E L James holds a copy of her new erotic fiction book “50 Shades of Grey” at a book signing (AP Photo/Jeffrey M Boan)

Ah, 50 Shades of Grey. Responsible for introducing us to the concept of popular erotic literature that throws all literary aspirations to the wind. Also responsible for an upsurge in embarrassing family conversations, novelty whip-themed items and adding a frisson of excitement to bedroom reading.

Oh, and one couple even divorced over the book.

Call Me Maybe

(CarlyRaeJepsenVEVO/YouTube)

If you think you don’t know this Carly Rae Jepsen song, then you’re only fooling yourself.

Ah Here, Leave i’ Ou’

(Jim-Jim Nugent/YouTube)

When four men got into a fight on Dublin’s Talbot St, it brought us a number of things. Firstly, the chilling realisation that some people will, quite literally, fight over anything anywhere, and secondly this woman, who courageously shouted the now much-loved phrase: “Ah here, leave i’ ou!” We love her.

Kony 2012

(InvisibleChildren/YouTube)

Remember Kony? This charity campaign started off great – encouraging people to be aware of the crimes perpetrated by alleged Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony in an attempt to get him tried at the International Criminal Court – but very quickly descended into an advertisement for how not to do activism.

The team behind the campaign were accused of meaningless ‘slackitivism’, one of the organisers was hospitalised after being arrested while allegedly drunk, and everything quickly unravelled. And yes, Kony is still at large.

BB Cream

(Idhren/Flickr)

It’s a little hard to explain what BB Cream is for the uninitiated – it’s like a heavier tinted moisturiser, but with anti-ageing properties, and makes a good base for foundation. If none of that makes any sense, move swiftly on to the next craze.

One Direction

Fans with cardboard One Direction members at the One Direction pop up store in New York. Pic: Diane Bondareff/AP/Press Association Images

2012 was the year of One Direction. They were bleedin’ everywhere. EVERYWHERE. On TV, on the radio, in magazines, in shops, having alleged steamy love affairs with older TV presenters, jetting to the USA and blinding everyone with their dazzling smiles, (allegedly) getting it on with married women, getting lots of questionable tattoos, confusing people with their accents, and being cute.

Coconut water

(rihanna/YouTube)

If celebs love it, it won’t be long before us mere mortals are shelling out cold hard cash for it. Take the case of coconut water, which just a year ago might have seemed like a weird drink you’d only find in health shops, but thanks to being strategically placed in the paws of ‘slebs like Rihanna, became the post-gym or post-hangover cure du jour. It tastes a bit like socks (we prefer the flavoured versions), but is crammed full of potassium, don’t you kneau.

Instagram

Yes, before there was Instagram there was Hipstamatic, but what that didn’t provide was the social network that comes with this photo filter app. Now you could share photos of your cornflakes obscured by a filter that makes it look like you’re eating them in the actual 1970s, and not only will people like it, but they’ll comment on it too.

Who needs proper cameras when you can take 100 photos of a street in black and white like you’re Henri Cartier Bresson? Some argued that it was the death of the art of photography; others just kept on snapping.

Tumblr & Pinterest

In 2011, we had Twitter, which paved the way for the death of blogging as we knew it (not that blogging itself died - Twitter just led to less comments and more interaction off blogs). Enter Tumblr, a way to blog without really doing much. You can share a pic, write a witty quote, or share someone else’s Tumblr entry, and still receive lots of love. Thankfully, Tumblr did bring us gems like the sites Rich Kids of Instagram, Cats That Look Like Pin-Up Girls and Dog Shaming.

Then there was Pinterest, which is all about virtually pinning images you love to your personal site, enabling you to collate a huge collage of inspiring images. But like Alice tumbling down the hole, you could pop onto Pinterest for a look and soon find yourself falling into a world full of inspiration quotes, ideal wedding dresses and aspirational bedrooms.

Read: This Irish cat has over 2.4 million views on YouTube>