'Horses And Bayonets' Tops List Of The Funniest Debate Tweets

Monday night's presidential debate set the stage for a standoff between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, but it also set the stage for one of the funniest Twitter topics of the year.

As the debates have been trending on social media more frequently during this election than during any previous election, rapid-fire commentary about the debate has turned a once-dry television experience into a 2-hour laugh-a-thon jam-packed with potential hash tags.

The debate, which took place at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla, is the last presidential debate for the current election cycle, which will end when voters go to the polls on Nov. 6.

Multiple news outlets are reporting that the most popular meme to come out of last night’s debate was a “well-executed zinger.”

Responding to a criticism from Romney about the size of the U.S. Navy, Obama said: "You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them."

The hashtag #horsesandbayonettes and parody account @Horsesbayonette quickly followed. Other popular moments included moderator Bob Schieffer slipping up and saying "Obama bin Laden," the repeated use of the word "tumult" and whether or not the U.S. should "divorce" Pakistan.

According to a Twitter report, the volume of tweets was a bit lower this round, with 6.5 million tweets sent during the hour-and-a-half-long event. The previous debate had 7.2 million tweets, while the first debate had 10 million tweets (a record for a U.S. political event).

Here are some of the funniest tweets to come out of the third and final debate for the 2012 presidential election.

Donald J. Trump -- Stop congratulating Obama for killing Bin Laden. The Navy Seals killed Bin Laden. #debate

Scary Beans ‏-- Stop congratulating The Navy Seals for killing Bin Laden. Some guns and also some bullets killed Bin Laden. #debate

Andy Borowitz -- Both candidates' use of the numbers 1 through 5 underscores the importance of keeping Sesame Street. #debate

cody christman -- A 15 year old talking about the debate on twitter is like a Canadian discussing palm trees with a polar bear

David Fear -- "You clearly think the beer in question is less filling!" "No, no, that is not accurate, I clearly said it. Tasted. Great!" #debate

jamisonfoser -- Obama: "I know you haven't had a chance to execute foreign policy." FACT-CHECK: Romney organized multinational Luge competition.

Felix Salmon ‏-- Governor, I'll see you your Mali and raise you a Chad. You're not going to leave Chad hanging, are you?

BradMcCarty -- According to Twitter, the Giants are leading Mitt Romney in game 3.

Jon Mooallem -- Chose the baseball game. Somebody's actually going to win that.

Hank Green -- The Giants Game 7 is ensuring no one in San Francisco is watching the Debate. How is Mitt ever going to reach them!?

awsamuel -- America, if all you want is a president whose policy is "go after the bad guys", my 6-year-old stands ready to serve. #debate

Barack Obama ‏[Parody account] -- Wait, so Tumult isn't one of Romney's sons name? #debate

Ben Greenman -- Romney: "I'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses." As groovy as that would be.

Bill Dixon -- If life were good, Mitt Romney would say "binder full of NATO allies." #mockthevote #debate

david carr ‏-- Romney: Love me some drones. My drones will dronier than the drones we now have.

Arianna Huffington ‏-- So no daylight at all btw the two on drones and Afghanistan. This is more of a meeting than a debate.

michaelshure -- Latin America is great because it is a time-zone opportunity? WORST PANDER EVER #current2012

Matthew Reichbach -- Obama should have picked up a mic and dropped it after that #horsesandbayonets line.

Cory Byrom -- I saw Horses and Bayonets at SXSW back in 2010. They slayed. #debate

jonathanwald -- Lone debate correspondent for Horse & Hound finally has a fresh lede.

John Kerry -- I think POTUS just sank Romney's battleship

azizansari -- "What are you guys going to be for Halloween?" #BetterDebateQuestions

nickgillespie -- Governor, you get a phone call that Candy Crowley is on her way to moderate a debate. What do YOU do?

Some Dude -- Did we get married to Pakistan during a drunken weekend in Vegas?? Was Zach Galifianakas involved? #debates

kumailn -- To divorce Pakistan, you'd just have to say "divorce" three times. #islamjoke #lookitup #debate

anamariecox -- I went on an apology tour once and I was sorry I did.

Matt Binder -- "Don't say Obama Bin Laden." - Bob Schieffer preparing for the debate "Obama Bin Laden" - Bob Schieffer at the debate #debates