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The Very Best of Viral Video

Many have tried, but few have surpassed the popularity of these online mega-hits

By Sophie Goldstein, Newser User

Posted Nov 12, 2007 2:00 PM CST

(Newser) – Humor, embarrassment, obscenity, and silliness are a recipe for success in the age of YouTube. PC World clicks on the classics of a young medium:

Bush and Kerry Sing "This Land Is Your Land": JibJab puts itself on the map.
The Coke and Mentos Experiments: Geysers of soda set to music? Thumbs up.
Back Dorm Boys: Two Chinese students passionately lip-synching to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" create an instant classic.

lonelygirl15: Before the LA Times outed the creators and star in 2006, millions of viewers thought this video blog was the real deal.
The World's Angriest RV Salesman: Outtakes from a 1988 industrial film for Winnebago.
The Numa Numa Dance: Gary Brolsma's lip-synching and interpretive dance to a German pop song got more than 2 million hits in a few months.
Star Wars Kid: The light saber-wielding teen's "friends" posted his performance on Kazaa; he thanked them with a lawsuit.
Ask a Ninja: Episodes of this comedic blog always ended with "I look forward to killing you soon!"
Chad Vader, Day Shift Manager: The most popular episode of Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda's series imagining Darth Vader in various real-life scenarios.
George Lucas in Love: A humorous short film made by then-USC student Joe Nussbaum spoofed both Star Wars and Shakespeare in Love.

To see the full list and view the videos, follow the link below.

[Videos (9)]

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager (episode 1) (blamesocietyfilms (YouTube))

Ask A Ninja: Ninja Dogs (trogdoor17 (YouTube))

Ask A Ninja: Special Delivery 1 "What is Podcasting?" (digitalfilmmaker (YouTube))

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager (episode 1) (blamesocietyfilms (YouTube))

Star Wars kid Drunken Jedi (fantom81z28 (YouTube))

This Land! (jibjab (YouTube))

Star Wars Kid (raze7ds (YouTube))

Diet Coke Mentos (zorro103 (YouTube))

back dorm boys - i want it that way (duncanmeister (YouTube))

Numa Numa (xloserkidx (YouTube))

George Lucas in Love (annasha1986 (YouTube))

First Blog / Dorkiness Prevails (lonelygirl15 (YouTube))

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

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The Very Best of Viral Video

Many have tried, but few have surpassed the popularity of these online mega-hits