Dispatches

The Top 20 Viral Videos of 2007

Pin it

Viral videos are hard to resist: forwarding one is like telling a friend a great joke without worrying that you’ll mess up the punchline. Plus, they’re only a few minutes long, so you’re not really wasting time, right? Luckily, that is not for us to decide. We’ve combed the web for the most conversation-worthy videos of the year. (If you’re at work, you may want to stop reading now.) They star, among others, a toddler who loves the word "bitch," a vagina-obsessed TV host and a pair of hand-holding otters. — Sarah Harrison

20. What’s the Buzz? With Merry Miller

Watching entertainment reporters fall apart on TV is pure vindication. You suspect that despite their slick styling and six-figure salaries, without a producer feeding them brainwaves through an earpiece, they’d all sound something like, well, ABC’s Merry Miller. The very temporary host of ABC’s "What’s the Buzz" provided this year’s most entertaining celebrity-interviewer debacle, mangling her Q&A with Holly Hunter, pronouncing the word "controversial" as if for the first time, and ultimately signing off for the wrong network. — Will Doig


19. There Goes an Asshole

Who among us has not had a bike stolen or vandalized? When Shank Bone Mystic, a Brooklyn-based musician, had the wheels from his bike taken, he was able to obtain footage from a nearby security camera that filmed the whole thing, including several passers-by who didn’t see the theft-in-process, or noticed but didn’t do anything. Shank Bone put his feelings to music and put the music on the footage, creating the universal lament "There Goes an Asshole." — Sarah Harrison


18. Obama Girl

In this video, Obama Girl, also known as Amber Lee, wears a pink bikini, purrs to "B" that "you’re into border security, let’s break this border between you and me" and promises that he can "ba-rock her tonight." The clip was produced by the BarelyPolitical team; their slogan is "Bare and Balanced" and their YouTube page says they’re "making politics sexy again." They may also have earned Obama some serious political capital. — Sarah Harrison


17. Otters Holding Hands

Within two weeks, this clip of two Vancouver Aquarium otters was the most-viewed YouTube animal video of all time. Experts say the hand-holding is a survival instinct to keep the otters from drifting apart, but we don’t buy it. They’re clearly best friends who are secretly in love with each other and too shy to do anything but hold hands, and now they’re going to swim away to listen to the Postal Service together. — Gwynne Watkins


16. Harry Potter Puppet Pals in The Mysterious Ticking Noise

I’m not so into puppets, and the Harry Potter craze mostly passed me by, but this video is undeniably appealing. In it, a bunch of felt characters from Harry Potter chant their names in time to a "mysterious ticking noise," and at the end there’s a big . . . something. Watch it to find out. Siblings Neil and Emmy Cicierega are the team behind Potter Puppet Pals and have created several other Harry Potter videos; with 27 million views, "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" is the most popular. Neil created the Flash-animation genre "animutation" when he was thirteen. Sigh. The kids these days, and such. — Sarah Harrison

 

15. George Washington

Brad Neely’s bizarre homage to America’s first president — who apparently invented cocaine, hates British children, and "fucks the shit out of bears" — was created in late 2006 but didn’t start making the YouTube rounds until March 2007. Neely was already a successful artist (he created the respected web comic series "Creased Comics"), and the short landed him a gig creating animation for SuperDeluxe.com. The sad postscript to the video’s success: according to Wikipedia, Neely sold the rights for just $250. — John Constantine


14. Dancing Bird

This web video is one of the most sublime pieces of moving imagery of our time — or any time. More poignant than Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames, this work will make you reassess what it means to be human. Behold, Snowball! He loves the Backstreet Boys and dancing. According to human sources close to Snowball, the sulfur-crested Eleanora cockatoo "just heard this song and suddenly felt like dancing. We’re all jealous because he can out-dance each one of us." It also seems he’s a bit of a double threat: "When he’s really in the mood, he dances and sings." — Jennifer Prediger


13. Paris in Jail

Somehow, it was inevitable that there would be a hit video depicting Paris Hilton lounging in jail, clad in an orange bathing suit. To the tune of Hilton’s single "Stars Are Blind," a doppelganger sings lines such as "I went ape on a sex tape," while eating a banana. Hilton’s official YouTube channel has received more than 4 million views, but this takeoff got more than 12 million. If Hilton is, as has been suggested, a giant self-parody, she’s got serious competition. — Sarah Harrison


12. Little Kid Singing "My Humps"

The best part of this video? A two-year-old conceived better lyrics for this Black-Eyed Peas song by mistake. Examples:
Fergie: "They buy me all these ices!"
Kid: "Chirpy-birpy Icee!"
Fergie: "Don’t pull on my hand, boy!"
Kid: "Don’t poo on my hand, boy!" We rest our case. — Gwynne Watkins


11. Miss South Carolina Answers a Question

When asked why one-fifth of Americans can’t find U.S. on the map, Caitlin Upton cited the problem as a lack of maps. She then suggested "our education, like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our children." After winning third place in the pageant, Upton now models for Trump and is paid exorbitant amounts of money. Ah, America!— Liz Nadybal

10. Soulja Boy Tell Em


Instructional video


Soulja Boy SpongeBob

Ever since he debuted his September album online, DeAndre Ramone Way — a.k.a. Soulja Boy Tell Em — has inspired the masses to parody "Crank Dat" with lip dubs. While the entries range from Barney, Dora the Explorer, and Winnie the Pooh rapping "Crank Dat", this SpongeBob SquarePants version is our favorite. — Jessica Gold Haralson


9. Dramatic Chipmunk

I figure I’ve spent about twelve minutes viewing "The Dramatic Chipmunk," which means I’ve seen this small rodent — which actually appears to be a prairie dog — approximately 144 times. If you work in an office, you’ve probably seen it pivot toward the camera with its expression of horror (or shock, or confusion, or sultry obsequiousness) at least as many times as I have. With better acting chops than most mammalian performers (here’s looking at you, Chris Crocker), this guy could probably spin his five seconds of fame into his own reality show. Just like Flipper did! — Will Doig


8. Heidi Klum Plays With Her Boobs

This video features Heidi Klum fondling her breasts, or, as she calls them here, "great knockers." It’s rare that an outtake makes an uber-beautiful-super-famous woman look happy and smart, and at the end she pretends to shoot bullets out of her nipples. There’s not much more to say about that. — Sarah Harrison


7. Chocolate Rain

In this ironic age, I often find it difficult to decide whether something is "so bad it’s good," or just good. This conundrum is heightened when the something in question is "Chocolate Rain," the YouTube hit performed by one Tay Zonday. Over a serpentine repeated keyboard line, the basso-profundo Zonday sings what turns out to be a surprisingly reflective lyric about racism (seriously, read the lyrics) but which comes off as something less reflective. Zonday may not have been too invested in the political content of his composition, since he quickly starred in a commercial adapting the song into an ode to Cherry-Chocolate Dr. Pepper. — Peter Smith


6. Battle at Kruger

The impressively named YouTube phenom "Battle at Kruger" lives up to its grand title: filmed during a 2004 safari in Kruger National Park (but new to the ‘net this year), startled tourists gasp and comment as a small pride of lions attack a herd of water buffalo, singling out and taking down a calf. It’s horrific, it makes you want to look away, and this is all before the crocodiles get involved. But just when you’re about to lose hope, the water buffalo return with a vengeance. Time magazine even reported on the video, saying it "may be the hottest upload in web history that doesn’t include a naked famous person or a politician saying something career-ending." — Nicole Ankowski

 

5. "Thriller" Dance in Filipino prison

Here, the residents of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center give Michael Jackson a run for his money. Choreographed by security consultant Byron Garcia, the 1,600 men had no idea that what began as a fitness routine would evolve into a YouTube hit. Garcia first led the men in calisthenics to Pink Floyd’s "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" and The Village People’s "In the Navy." Next up is a routine to Vanilla Ice’s "Ice, Ice Baby." Expect an Antonio Banderas/Edward James Olmos cinematic retelling — discipline through dance! — by this time next year. — Liz Nadybal


4. Vagina Power

Weaned on UHF and Wayne’s World, children of the ’80s have high expectations for local cable-access shows. Finally, one has far exceeded every expectation ever dreamed: Alexyss Tylor’s "Vagina Power." On the Atlanta-based show, Tylor shares her unique views on sex with her bewildered mother; it’s too good to even parody. Instead, bloggers posted transcripts of Tylor’s priceless advice ("If we’re hooked on the penis power, and this man won’t even buy you some shrimp from Long John Silver’s — and that plate’s what, $2.99? — but he can give you a mouthful of sperm and a rectum full of sperm, we have to see what our issue is.") — Gwynne Watkins


3. 2 Girls 1 Cup


A grandmother’s reaction


A compilation of reactions

The video that inspired the most intense reactions (posted above). If you must watch the original, do so in private, or with trusted associates. You’ll have to Google it, because we’re not posting it here. And we shall say no more about that. — Sarah Harrison


2. Leave Britney Alone

After the MTV Video Music Awards, the internet was awash with Britney haters. The BBC said her performance was a "disaster;" blogs called it shiteous. Only one mascara-smeared man rose to her defense. In this teary clip, ninteen-year-old Chris Crocker pleaded for leniency, and more than 13 million people listened. Crocker’s previous MySpace and YouTube posts had earned him some notoriety, but nothing like the Britney clip, which led to the talk-show circuit and a reality-show deal. If all goes well, by 2011 Crocker will be enmeshed a paternity suit and asking the paparazzi for directions to his house. — Sarah Harrison


1. The Landlord

This is what celebrities should be doing in their downtime. Will Ferrell and longtime pal/former SNL writer Adam McKay gathered friends, family, and one foulmouthed two-year-old (McKay’s adorable daughter) to create "The Landlord." Maybe people just like Ferrell; maybe people just like hearing a baby screech, "I want my money, bitch!" Either way, it was a hit on their site Funny or Die, racking up 7 million views in one day. We can only imagine what those viewers then tried to get the children in their lives to say . . . — Nicole Ankowski

jaden smith dating

Conflict resolution also does not imply that conflicts are bottled up or not addressed. local hookup website Neither particular person compromises who they are, or bases their identity on the other individual. Make new relationships or web for cost free chat, chat tinder plus web for a excellent place to your inbox. how many points is sperm on weight watchers We do not address people s emotional standing right here when discussing partnership difficulties, which is another important aspect of connection dynamics.

So rather than going on line, I mine my good friends, new and old, to see if they know someone I could possibly like.

men hookup sites

Unlike the other apps, your profile on Pure won't last forever. adultsearch oceanside Therefore, do not even hope that this lady can bend a small to match your “ideal. It also gives numeric match predictions primarily based on compatibility and interests, though it isn't completely clear how these numbers are calculated. cinema city norton va showtimes The Ashley Madison totally free hookup website is uncomplicated to use and has more than 50 million customers.

Comments Mobile app centered everyone was just too challenging, they couldn’t discover how to get the device to make ideas, as well as do things automatically. Bustr - The best and speediest method to satisfy & date BBW , BHM along with their admirers. backpage clarion pa it is possible to choose to be the ideal or most awful element of yourself on 100 % pure as well as suit your dirtiest intimate fantasies with all the correct person. Together with the developing online technology, each job in your life is shifting from offline method to on the internet setting.