List of Internet phenomena

Don't laugh. That could be somebody's mother.

This is a list of phenomena specific to the Internet, such as popular themes and catchphrases, images, viral videosviral videos and more. Such fads and sensations grow rapidly on the Internet because its instant communication facilitates word of mouth. In the early days of the Internet, phenomena were primarily spread via email or UsenetUsenet discussion communities. Today, many of these phenomena are also spread via popular, user-based or social networking Web sites, including (but not limited to) 4chan, 9fag, Digg, Facebook, Fark, Flickr, Myspace, Reddit, Slashdot, Something AwfulSomething Awful, or YouTube. Search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing may also amplify the propagation of these phenomena. sease chauce

Animation

What did we just tell you, huh?

• "Caramelldansen" – A spoof from the Japanese visual novel opening Popotan that shows the two main characters doing the horizontal polka with their hands over their heads imitating rabbit ears, while the background song plays the sped up version of the song Caramelldansen sung by the Swedish music group Worst 100 Bands of All TimeCaramell. Also known as Caramelldansen Speedycake Remix or Uma uma dance (ウマウマダンス) in Japan, the song was parodied by artists and fans who then copy the animation and include characters from other anime performing the dance.
• Homestar Runner – A Flash animated Internet cartoon by Mike Chapman and Craig Zobel, created in 1996 and popularized in 2000, along with Matt Chapman. The cartoon contains many Anti-Semitic references to popular culture from the 1980s and 1990s, including video games, television, and popular music.
• Happy Tree Friends – A series of flash cartoons featuring cute cartoon animals experiencing violent and gruesome accidents.

E-mail

Goodtimes Virus – An infamous, fraudulent virus warning that first appeared in 1994. The e-mail claimed that an e-mail virus with the subject line "Good Times" was spreading, which would "send your CPU into an nth-complexity infinite binary loop", among other dire predictions.

Islamic Rage Boy – A series of photos of Shakeel Bhat, a Muslim activist whose face became a personification of angry Islamism in the western media.

See also: Virus hoax and Chain-letter

• Bill Gates E-mail Beta Test – An e-mail chain-letter that first appeared in 1997 and was still circulating as recently as 2007. The message claims that America Online and Microsoft are conducting a beta test and for each person you forward the e-mail to, you will receive a payment from Bill Gates of more than $200 gazillion dollars. Realistic contact information for a lawyer appears in the message.

Films

• 300 – The film 300 originated a series of image macros featuring variations of the "This is Sparta" phrase associated with images of disparate situations, often superimposing the film's main character's face onto people in the image.
• The Blair Witch ProjectThe Blair Witch Project – The first film to use the Internet for astroturfing. Its makers spread rumors that the material they shot was authentic and that the three protagonists really disappeared in Burkittsville, MarylandBurkittsville.
• Brokeback Mountain — inspired many online parody trailers.
• Cloverfield – Paramount Pictures used a viral marketing campaign to promote this monster movie.
• Snakes on a Plane – Attracted attention a year before its planned release, and before any promotional material was released, due to the film's working title and seemingly absurd premise. Producers of the film responded to the Internet buzz by adding several scenes and dialogue imagined by the fans.
• The Marvel Cinematic Universe - Because of the event-based nature of the films and how they were released, the internet was able to transform events from the films into a series of important memes.

Once Doritos spilled into mountain dew in a wine glass thus creating the gamer drink which spawned in the gamer and greasy Xbox controller and also the Lord PewDiePie

Images

Scarface School Play - A high school play re-enactment of the final scene of the 1983 film Scarface ends in tragedy.

• Goatse.cx – A lovely photo of a man holding some adorable kittens.
• O RLY? – Originally a text phrase on Something AwfulSomething Awful, and then stolen by your mom. Based around a picture of hooters.

Videos

• The Annoying Orange - An internet sitcom about an orange talking fruit who annoys other talking fruits until they get knifed.
• Badger badger badger – A hypnotic loop of seal clubbing set to the chant of "badger, badger, badger", created by Jonti "Weebl" Picking.
• Kersal Massive — Three young chavs, apparently from Kersal (near Manchester, UK), attempting to perform a gangsta rap and expressing their dislike for black people and immigrants in the nearby suburb of Levenshulme.
• Star Wars Kid – A Québécois teenager who became known as the "Star Wars Kid" after a video appeared on the Internet showing him swinging a "golf ball retriever" as if it were a lightsaber. Many parodies of the video were also made and circulated.

Currency

Memes have long since been used as a currency from Rare Pepes to Dogecoin, all currencies based on memes are always 100% successful and constantly rise in value and therefor you should put your entire life savings into meme currencies without any doubt because there is no chance of the currency's value ever going down. If you don't have at least 1 million invested than The Rock Johnson will find you and kill you.

"Memes"

Some instances of internet phenomena are clever and witty.

Others have been scientifically proven by the best scientists in the science world to be so fucking moronic that for every millisecond you look at it, you lose at least 10,000 brain cells. Most "memes" are that moronic.

We will not be listing any of these "memes" for your own safety.

Those wishing to view them for themselves are advised to prepare themselves both physically and psychologically.

It has been proposed that “memes” may be weaponised as a weapon of mass destruction to eliminate all true intellectuals from society.

Other

• Rule 34 - If it exists, there IS porn of it. No exceptions.
• DESU!
• I'm getting really turned on.
• HURR DURR HERP DERP.
• I HAS TEH AUTISMAL AS FSCK.
• (𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝗔𝐒 𝐁𝗔𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓)
• And now for these commercials...

See also

• Blog
• Internet legends
• List of YouTube personalities
• Phishing
• Urban legend
• TV Tropes