Videos go viral everyday and there doesn’t seem to be any method to what actually makes a viral video. One week the hottest most views and shared video on the web may be a laughing goat, while the never week…a person falling on a patch of ice goes nuts online. You just never know.
Below are seven of the first videos to ever go viral online, way back in the day. Do you remember any of these?
1. Llama Song
Originally it was posted to DeviantArt as a Flash animation before it was added to some other sites that really bumped up its views. It makes no sense, but is still somehow entertaining.
2. Peanut Butter Jelly Time
This dancing banana has hung around ever since it first appeared back in 2002. Who knows what a dancing banana has to do with peanut butter and jelly, but it’s probably best not to think about it too hard.
3. Star Wars Kid
This kid recorded himself reenacting a Star Wars lightsaber battle and it ended up online. This video has been apparently been viewed over a billion times, including the 32 million times it has been viewed on YouTube since it was uploaded there.
In the wake of his video surfacing online, Ghyslain Raza dropped out of high school, was diagnosed with depression, and became an in-patient at a psychiatric ward for kids. His family then successfully sued the families of the classmates who leaked his video for $250,000. Ghyslain is now a lawyer himself.
4. End of the World
It was uploaded to Alibino Blacksheep in 2003, and created so many internet catchphrases including my personal favorite: “But I am le tired”.
5. Rejected
This short actually won 17 different awards at film festivals. Pretty impressive for the increasingly ridiculous cartoons! It’s been viewed over 9 million times on YouTube alone.
6. Evolution of Dance
This guy has been viewed over 297 MILLION times. Granted he was always on YouTube and not on the other services, but he was one of the original viral videos that everyone seems to have seen on YouTube.
7. Dancing Baby
The original video got sent around by email to every single person in the world it seemed. This dancing baby took the world by storm for no real reason other than it was silly.
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