In 2018, it’s tough to imagine an internet without viral videos. Every day we see multiple videos in the news, across our social media feeds and even just in general conversations with other people. It wasn’t that long ago however, that only a small amount of videos spread like wildfire, making it onto screens all across the world. Today, we’re looking into some of the original viral videos that helped shape the internet into what it is today.
Charlie bit my finger … again!
Potentially the most popular viral video ever, the 55-second, 2007 clip has nearly reached a billion views on You- Tube. The video is simple; a cute interaction between two young brothers. You’ve likely seen it. The family has earned over $1.5 million dollars (Cdn) for a video that was never even meant to be put on Youtube. So while you keep going to school every day, slaving away the hours, working hard to make a future for yourself, just remember, it took this family under a minute to accomplish more than you likely ever will … Ouch.
Star Wars kid
All the way back in 2002, a 15-yearold by the name of Ghyslain Raza planted the seeds for another hit video. Similar to Charlie bit me, this was never intended for the public. Raza filmed the tape and left it in his own basement until his friends found it a while later. They spread the video around the whole school; what great friends. Raza can be seen waving around a golf ball retriever, acting like it’s a lightsaber in a full out display of awesomeness. This one has an interesting story to it though, as Raza has faced an abundance of cyber bullying, which caused his mother to sue the four friends who originally spread the video. Raza has also spoken out against bullying over the years.
Peanut butter-jelly time
Also released in 2002, this is an annoying, two-minute-long video of an animated dancing banana repeatedly screaming: “It’s peanut butter-jelly time!” This spread around old Internet forums and caught the attention of the world. Now, one (of many of the same copy) of the video has 71 million views on You- Tube but that doesn’t even come close to the amount of total views because this video was actually released before You- Tube. This has been used all over pop culture, including an appearance in the hit TV series Family Guy, where Brian dresses up as a banana and does his rendition of the song to Peter. This video is completely ridiculous, but it didn’t stop it from being a mega-hit. It’s good to see that the Internet hasn’t changed a bit.
– Connor Toffan
