Top 20 Funniest Videos That Broke the Internet

On March 10, 2017 political scientist Robert E. Kelly was professionally conducting an at-home interview with the BBC about South Korean politics. And then his children walked in. There’s just so much good stuff packed into this video that we don’t even know where to start. There’s the girl opening the door and proudly strutting around in the background. There’s the baby wheeling his way into the room. There’s the BBC interviewer trying not to laugh. You’ve got Kelly trying to push his daughter away. And of course you have Kelly’s wife, Jung-a Kim, ninja sliding into the room and ushering the children out the door while Kelly closes his eyes in exasperation. It’s like a scene out of a surreal comedy, and we love every second of it.

Apparently this video went viral because apparently it has millions of views. On August 4, 2014, little Noah Ritter was interviewed by a local news channel about the Wayne County Fair. Apparently Ritter had just learned a fancy new word because he used it every chance he got. Even if it didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Not only that, but Ritter used his precious time on television to explain that he, a five-year-old, does not watch the news, and even when he does, he’s forced to watch the Powerball with his grandfather. Children really are a gift. Not for the love, but for the laughs. And the love as well, we suppose.

Poor Caitlin Upton. No matter how smart and successful she may be, she will forever be known as that Miss Teen USA. You know the one we’re talking about. During the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant, Upton was asked why a fifth of Americans can’t locate the United States on a world map. What follows is one of the most hilariously incoherent things the internet has ever heard. What makes the video even better is the host desperately trying not to laugh in Upton’s face! The clip quickly spread through Facebook and YouTube, becoming the most-viewed internet video of September 2007. It is now a certified classic.

If there’s one thing the collective internet loves, it’s cats. And in a time of intense political division, the Keyboard Cat brought us all together. The video itself was actually filmed in the mid-80s, and it shows a tabby cat named Fatso dressed in a bright blue outfit and playing a keyboard. The cat’s owner, Charlie Schmidt, uploaded the old footage to YouTube in 2007, but it didn’t gain traction until 2009 when YouTuber Brad O’Farrell used the footage in a video titled “Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat.” The footage was used to mockingly “play off” a man falling down an escalator. This, in turn, influenced videos of a similar nature, and before long, the late Fatso was an internet sensation.

Video game freakouts are always good for a laugh. But nothing will ever beat the iconic “World of Warcraft” freakout. The video shows a young teenager going absolutely ballistic in his bedroom after his mother canceled his “World of Warcraft” account. The meltdown includes flailing around on the bed, hiding himself under a blanket while professing his desire to run away from home, and… ugg… let’s just say we don’t envy his remote. Some people have doubted the video’s authenticity, probably because the meltdown is just so bizarre. But fake or not, it’s still hilarious, and over 100 million people seem to agree.

It’s amazing to see what passed as a viral video back in the day. In this very short video clip, a man named Mark Hicks can be seen falling flat on his face after doing a backflip and staggering off camera. That’s literally it. Modern fail compilations have made videos like these a regular occurrence, but this took the internet by storm back in the mid-2000s. This video could be seen on sites like eBaum’s World, where it quickly spread and became famous. It was eventually uploaded to YouTube in January 2006 and has since amassed nearly 20 million views.

If you need proof that happiness is contagious, just watch this video. In January 2010, YouTube user Yosemitebear62 uploaded a video showcasing a rare double rainbow in Yosemite National Park. Yosemitebear62, real name Paul Vasquez, can be heard yelling in amazement and crying at the vibrant beauty of the view. The video gained national attention after Jimmy Kimmel shared it on Twitter, and many people reported feeling happy for Paul’s elated happiness. Sadly, Vasquez passed away on May 9, 2020, aged 57. Wherever he is, we hope he’s enjoying the heavenly sight of a double rainbow.

A pre-YouTube craze, Potter Puppet Pals is a series of videos spoofing the “Harry Potter” series using (what else?) puppets! Creator Neil Cicierega made a flash animated Potter Puppet Pals called “Bothering Snape” in late 2003 before turning the series live-action in September 2006. The following March, Cicierega made another video titled “The Mysterious Ticking Noise,” and this was the first Potter Puppet Pals to go viral. It accrued over 70 million views in its first two years on YouTube and has since become an important part of the site’s history. Do we still love it after all this time? Always.

Here we have another kid on another local news channel, and this one is even more iconic. The video concerns ten-year-old Jonathan Ware, who was visiting Portland’s Rose Festival. When asked about his new zombie face paint, Ware simply turns to the reporter and gives one of the greatest answers to ever grace local news. We don’t know what’s funnier - the answer itself, the reporter’s bemused reaction, or the fact that the clip opens with Jonathan silently staring into the camera for a solid five seconds. The video saw millions of views, spawned dozens of remixes and parodies, and “I like turtles” was subsequently entered into Urban Dictionary.

The longer this video goes on, the more we realize that we should be watching the local news. Apparently, it’s a goldmine of memes. While covering a local apartment fire, Oklahoma City’s KFOR interviewed resident Sweet Brown and asked about her experience. What follows is one of the funniest stories the internet has ever heard, as well as a catchphrase that has entered the internet lexicon. The video spread through the internet thanks to sites like eBaum’s World and Gawker, amongst others, and the YouTube video earned over one million views in 48 hours. A true internet classic was born, and we always have time for it.

Whenever the news covers alleged sightings of mythological creatures, you know it’s going to be good. In March 2006, news station WPMI covered an alleged leprechaun sighting in Mobile, Alabama. The news story opens with the anchors literally laughing at the prospect of a leprechaun, and it only gets better from there. We get colorful commentary from Mobile residents, a hilarious amateur sketch of the supposed leprechaun, and a man clad in body armor with a “leprechaun flute” that “wards off spells.” The video went viral thanks in large part to the amateur sketch and was later parodied on “South Park.” Once you’re made fun of on “South Park,” you know you’ve made it.

One of YouTube’s first and finest viral videos has to be Liam Sullivan’s “Shoes.” Sullivan appears as “Kelly,” a stereotypical materialistic girl who finds comfort and happiness in shoes. The skit was part of Sullivan’s stand-up routine, and after it received a favorable reception at his shows, he decided to film it as an internet skit. A shortened version of the full skit was uploaded to his YouTube channel on May 5, 2006, and it quickly spread thanks to endorsements from Margaret Cho and Andy Samberg. The full video was eventually uploaded in February 2007 and has remained on the site ever since.

If we had five seconds to show an alien the magic of the internet, we would choose Dramatic Look. The video is simple - a prairie dog looks back at the camera while dramatic music from “Young Frankenstein” plays in the background. But the simplest videos are always the funniest, and that is certainly the case here. The clip comes from an old Japanese variety show called “Hello! Morning,” but we can thank YouTube user magnets99 for adding the dramatic music. The video took off throughout June 2007, complete with remixes, reaction videos, and re-enactments. The prairie dog was even named one of People Magazine’s 10 Wildest YouTube Stars of the Year.

You know, we really hate laughing at people’s misfortune. But come on, how can you not laugh at this? The famous Grape Lady was reporting on a grape stomping competition at Atlanta’s Chateau Elan Winery and Resort. She decided to play along but tripped out of her basket, falling off the raised platform and flat onto her face. What follows are perhaps the most bizarre pain sounds anyone has ever heard. What makes the video even funnier are the anchors back in the studio, who are trying their absolute hardest not to laugh on air. Grape Lady was obviously in a lot of pain, but those noises are just too funny.

And here we have more local news gold. On July 28, 2010, Alabama’s WAFF-48 traveled to an apartment complex to report on a break-in and attempted assault. The victim’s brother, Antoine Dodson, was interviewed by the news team, resulting in one of the most bizarre news stories ever captured. Dodson doesn’t even appear angry or upset, instead using animated and rhythmic language to describe the situation in the most playful manner possible. The video spread through Reddit and even mainstream media outlets like The Washington Post got in on the discussion. The video, and Dodson himself, became internet sensations, and a really catchy autotuned song called Bed Intruder Song was created from Dodson’s iconic catchphrase.

This video proves two things. One - that we all take pleasure in watching children say and do silly things, even if those children are not our own. Maybe it’s just human nature. Two - the internet is really fickle in what it decides to make popular. A video with a ton of time and effort put in can hit a couple thousand views, but a home video of two children playing around can attain over 850 million! The video’s creator, Howard Davies-Carr, was originally going to share the video over email to close relatives but decided to make it public on YouTube for the sake of convenience. The video took off in November 2007, and in October 2009, it became the most-viewed video in YouTube history.

We’re returning to the Dark Ages of the Internet, AKA pre-YouTube, for the timeless Star Wars Kid. Back in November 2002, high school student Ghyslain Raza filmed himself wielding a golf ball retriever like Darth Maul’s double-sided lightsaber. Raza filmed the video in his high school studio but forgot to retrieve the tape after he was done, and his classmates eventually found and uploaded the footage to a P2P network called Kazaa. The video struck it big on humor sites like Newgrounds, and by 2006 the video was estimated to have been viewed nearly one billion times. It has even been parodied on shows like “Family Guy” and “Arrested Development,” a clear sign of its mainstream exposure.

Another classic Newgrounds transfer is Numa Numa, which is arguably one of the most wholesome viral videos of all time. The concept is simple - Gary Brolsma lip syncs O-Zone’s “Dragostea din tei” while ecstatically pumping his arms. This is the type of stuff that went viral back in the Newgrounds days, and it was glorious. The video was uploaded to Newgrounds on December 6, 2004, and absolutely took off. Brolsma was even interviewed for The New York Times the following February, signifying just how popular the video had become. And remember, this was pre-YouTube! This sort of internet fame was unheard of at the time, and Numa Numa has easily earned its place in the Internet Hall of Fame.

Britney Spears was set to have her big comeback at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards following her highly publicized personal struggles. However, the performance was widely panned by the mainstream media, and vlogger Chris Crocker came to Spears’ defense. In this classic video, an empathetic Crocker cries and pleads with the media to stop criticizing Spears. Everyone ignored his pleas and focused on the video itself, which amassed two million views in just 24 hours. The video was endlessly parodied, and Crocker himself appeared on outlets as diverse as CNN, Fox News, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and “The Howard Stern Show.” It was a bonafide media sensation. At least the endless Crocker talk gave Spears a break. So maybe he was successful after all...

YouTube changed forever on April 6, 2006. That was the day that motivational speaker Judson Laipply uploaded his Evolution of Dance to the site. Laipply used to close his talks with this hilarious dance and decided to upload it to YouTube for the world to enjoy. And enjoy, it did. The video skyrocketed in popularity and amassed ten million views in just two weeks, earning it features on mainstream media outlets like CNN, E!, and “Good Morning America.” It also set numerous YouTube records, including the most favorited and most viewed video on the site. That is, until Charlie Bit My Finger dethroned it in October 2009. But for three long, prosperous years, YouTube belonged to Judson Laipply and his Evolution of Dance.