Charlie Bit Me…For the Last Time

The video that defined “going viral” will soon be erased from YouTube, most likely forever. The “Charlie Bit Me” video was recently sold to a company that takes nostalgia as seriously as Charlie’s brother took pain reliever after his finger was chomped.

“Charlie Bit Me” paved the way for viral videos.

It gets a little complicated when explaining how the transaction took place. The clip was auctioned as a non-fungible token (NFT), which is kind of like a currency for digital files. The NFT for “Charlie Bit Me” declares the company as the owner of the video. The going price was $760,999.

But enough about the complexities regarding how the sale was pulled off. Can we all just take a moment of silence for not just one of the first, but also one of the greatest, viral videos of all-time? I mean the clip had everything: Babies, one-liners, grainy footage, and British accents. Sure, they will say that the video was uploaded to YouTube only because it was too large to email to relatives living in America, thus making it an unintentional sensation, but I don’t believe it. That clip was purposely made to be seen by everyone on the planet.

Personally, the video charmed me. I may or may not have parodied it, quoted it at random times, and wondered why anyone would be so stupid to put their finger in someone else’s mouth. Come to think of it, I probably gave “Charlie Bit Me” way more thought than what any 56-second clip deserves.

However, in all honesty, can we really overstate the important role the video has played in pop culture? “Charlie Bit Me” is a household title and it really did pave the way for video, GIFs, and memes. If not for that video, would we even have TikTok today? Think about that one for a minute.

Congrats to the brothers who are making a fortune on this 17 years later. I think the baby bite was worth it, even if it really hurt. Don’t Blink.

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