Yesterday, the very first YouTube video turned 7 years old. The clip, “Me at the zoo,” was uploaded on the evening of April 23, 2005 and features YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim talking about elephants at the zoo. Quick and mostly pointless (unless you were unaware of elephants having “really, really, really long, um, trunks”), it was the beginning of what is now a site that sees over 800 million unique viewers per month that watch over four billion videos each day—many of which are quick and kind of pointless.
To celebrate the occasion, here are seven of the site’s most memorable clips from the last seven years.
Known for his off-putting smile, rigid movements and nonsensical lyrics, the “Trololo guy” has racked up over 13 million views since being uploaded in 2010—and actually has a fascinating backstory.
Making life easier on pageant queens everywhere, Miss Teen South Carolina found YouTube infamy in 2007 when attempting to explain why 20% of Americans can’t locate America on a world map. Instead of simply blaming Mario Lopez, she said this:
In August of 2006, YouTube was given a gift from the heavens, and her name is Atlanta Grape Lady.
The Schmoyoho crew does a great job “songifying” some of pop culture’s greatest moments, from Auto Tune the News to this lovely take on the faux-online dater who loves cats, wherein pretty much every internet cat meme out there is put to good use in one video.
At 448 million views and counting, Charlie’s brother biting his finger is clearly a top pick for the YouTube Hall of Fame.
And lastly, Dramatic Chipmunk will introduce the one, the only…
The Rick Roll.
