It’s hard to believe that YouTube has only been around for seven years. The video sharing website has become an integral part of daily life. It’s existence being more important during bouts of procrastination and the dreaded exam week. To fill up your ten-minute revision break, HCX has compiled a list of the top five ‘viral vids’ of 2012 so put the kettle on and have a read!
It sprung up on YouTube in October and didn’t gain a huge number of views until being posted on reddit soon after, but this clip of some young Germans is definitely worth a watch. A young guy dressed in only some shorts in freezing conditions decides to jump on what he believes to be a thin layer of ice, the key word being ‘believes’. What makes this so brilliant is the inevitability of the situation but still finding it hilariously funny when the inevitable happens. His friends offers little support and lots of laugh, and its number five on our list of viral videos with 23 million views.
4. GloZell’s Cinnamon Challenge
If you don’t know about GloZell Green, then let HCX introduce you to someone you didn’t know you were missing. Moving to Hollywood in 2003 to pursue a career in comedy and acting, she soon found a captive audience on YouTube. After her increasing audience sent in lots of requests to partake in the cinnamon challenge, she willing grabs a spoon! However, the spoon in question can only be described as a ladle and of course, chaos ensues. These few minutes will guarantee you more laughs than a comedian’s DVD collection. Glozell’s video soon went viral and comes in 4th place on our list with 24 million views.
On 14th October 2012 Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner successfully completed the highest ever skydive from space. During the jump he experienced a 4 minutes and 19 seconds free-fall reaching an incredible velocity of 834mph, he also became the first individual to break the sound barrier without vehicular power. The event itself was broadcast live on YouTube where 8 million tuned in to watch the record-breaking event. The moment in history is forever cemented by the video, which takes third place on our list with 31 million views.
2. Kony 2012
Back in March, an organisation called Invisible Children released a film on YouTube in order to raise awareness about Joseph Kony, a Ugandan cult and military leader. The film looks at the young children who have been forced into work through coercion and the detrimental effects on their life. The half an hour film has 95million views and is runner up for HCX’s viral video of the year.
First place is reserved for the one and only Gangnam Style. Having been released in July by South Korean Pop Sensation PSY, it is the first video in history to reach over one billion views on YouTube. The revenue from views alone was estimated to be over £5 Million at the end of 2012. After months of speculation, the meaning of Gangnam Style has also become apparent by a definition on urban dictionary which claims that “Gangnam has become the most wealthy area in the entire South Korea. It is regarded as the place where people are rich, girls are pretty and everything is supposed to be cool.” It takes the top spot on the viral list for 2012 with 1 billion and 93 million and counting!
Image Credits: gamedynamo.com, discoveryuk.com, tellemgrodypr.com