Videos going viral are pretty much an everyday occurrence at this point. In fact, “going viral” is the ultimate goal of articles on a lot of websites like BuzzFeed, and Thought Catalog. We all remember the viral videos of years past like “Gangnam Style” and Steve Kardynal’s Chat Roulette rendition of “Call Me Maybe”, so what did 2014 bring us? In case you have forgotten, here are 10 videos that went so viral this year, even your grandparents have seen them.
First Kiss
95 million views
For this video (which was meant as an ad for fashion line, Wren), 20 people were asked to kiss someone they just met for the first time on camera. Some were awkward, but some looked like they actually had genuine chemistry with their make-out partner. The video was accused of using actors, but the people behind it insist that everything that happened on film was real.
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Jimmy Kimmel Halloween Prank
24 million views
Every year, Jimmy Kimmel challenges parents to tell their kids that they ate all their Halloween candy and film it. The results vary from disbelief, to anger, to full on temper tantrums. None of the kids were impressed, and the betrayal even sparks one kid to exclaim “You ruined my life!”
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10 Hours of Being a Woman in NYC
38 million views
This video shows a woman walking silently through New York City for 10 hours, and all the times she is catcalled, harassed, and even followed. The video is meant to show that it doesn’t matter what she is wearing, or if she responds, every woman experiences street harassment.
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Sara X Performs Mozart With Her Breasts
34 million views
Model Sara X filmed a video flexing her breasts along to Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” and the video went viral immediately. Her “boob twerking” as she calls it helped her raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation, so it was actually for a good cause. Who would have guessed?
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11-year-old Dancing to Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda
11 million views
Needless to say, most adults don’t have moves like 11-year-old Taylor Hatala. The video of her dance routine to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” went viral after choreographer Laurence Kaiwai posted the footage of his dance class. Since then, Taylor has appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show, and has released more videos (for ex. a routine to “All About That Bass” with 13 million views). It’s pretty safe to say she has a successful dance career ahead of her.
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#Selfie by The Chainsmokers
270 million views
If there is one trend that Instagram is completely to blame for it is the #selfie. It was only a matter of time before someone wrote a song about it, making fun of girls who obsess over the perfect selfie angle, and how many likes it gets on social media. The Chainsmokers created the perfect #selfie anthem, making bar stars (you know who you are) everywhere scream collectively, “I don’t sound like that!”
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Kids React to Walkmans
10 million views
The Kids React series has been airing on Youtube for awhile now, but this year the Kids React to Technology – Walkmans had to be the one that made us all feel the oldest. Most of them had no idea what the walkman was, let alone how to make it work. The idea that you would need an actual cassette tape to hear music was completely foreign to them. In their defense, no one has a walkman anymore. No one.
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Dove Beauty Patches
20 million views
Last year Dove’s Real Beauty campaign made headlines for attempting to show people that everyone is their own harshest critic. This year, the Dove Beauty Patch experiment was an extension of that. Volunteers were asked to wear a patch that was supposed to make them feel beautiful. The women reported that the patch worked – they felt like their self esteem had improved exponentially. Then it turned out the “beauty patch” was just a placebo. It was all about perception. The campaign had its critics, but that only helped it spread.
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iPhone 6 Plus Bend Test
60 million views
The new iPhone 6 Plus is a lot bigger than earlier iPhones, making it somewhat more difficult to carry around in your pocket. So, after seeing reports that the phone is actually bending, Unbox Therapy on Youtube did a test. He found that the phone does bend with the pressure of his bare hands. Maybe one day Apple will make indestructible phones, because that is probably the only thing that will make anybody happy.
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Epic Rap Battles of History
42 million views
The Youtube channel Epic Rap Battles has been around for awhile, but the most popular one of 2014 was Goku vs. Superman. The rival superheroes battle deliver some epic burns including Goku telling Superman “there is nothing fun about a superhero scared of green rocks”. Some other epic battles include Miley Cyrus vs. Joan of Arc, and Ellen vs. Oprah.
