25 Dumbest Things To Ever Go Viral

Posted by , Updated on December 27, 2023

With the power of the internet, pretty much anything can go viral. Of course, certain criteria might help skyrocket your product or video to greatness. Humor, pranks, adorable things, and insane challenges all make the list. But sometimes, there’s no hidden formula to go viral. It’s just luck. Unfortunately, that means a whole lot of dumb stuff has gone viral. Curious to find out what that dumb stuff is? Here are 25 dumbest things to ever go viral.

Video
play-rounded-fill

25

"I'm on a Boat" Video

The_Lonely_IslandSource: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/digital-short-im-on-a-boat/3505976?snl=1

The Loney Island is known for ridiculous and over the top humor. But the “I’m on a Boat” video was too much stupidity, even for them. In a way, they parodied themselves by sticking to a formula, finding a ridiculous catchphrase, and getting an A-Lister to come on board.

24

Tiny Burrito-Munching Hamster

hamsterSource: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/05/02/308390124/this-hamster-gets-to-eat-two-tiny-burritos

Cute things have a much higher probability of going viral on the internet. So, it kind of makes sense the Tiny Burrito-Munching Hamster went viral. On top of that, the video was well produced and its just so darn hard to look away from the cheek stuffing hamster. Nonetheless, at the end, you feel far dumber going out than coming in.

23

“All By Myself” At The Airport

Mumbai_AirportSource: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-vegas-airport-all-by-myself-video-20140612-story.html

Stuck in an airport all night with nothing to do, Richard Dunn takes up his camera and makes a video with Celine Dion’s “All by Myself” playing in the background. He made it only to make his wife laugh but once he posted the video online, it quickly went viral.

22

Corn On The Cob Power Drill

cornSource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-E6yKZxxl8

A girl with very long hair decided to eat corn on the cob off of a drill. Things didn’t turn out so well for her. The spinning drill caught on her hair and before they could stop it, it ripped out a huge chunk on the top of her head. We’re thinking going viral didn’t make up for the massive bald spot.

21

Extreme Phone Pinching

phoneSource: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/11912080/Extreme-phone-pinching-is-the-strangest-trend-of-2015.html

Extreme Phone Pinching is pretty easy to explain. First, take your crazy pills and then hold your expensive phone over a perilous location with only your index finger and your thumb. This went viral with tons of people taking pictures of themselves doing this over lakes, canyons, rivers, or even a storm drain. We’re pretty sure cell phone repair companies loved this trend.

20

Diet Coke And Mentos Challenge

diet cokeSource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8r6P0HiPwU

Challenges love to go viral because usually, they involve people doing questionable things. The Diet Coke and Mentos Challenge is no exception. All you have to do is put Mentos in your mouth and drink Diet Coke at the same time. Easy, right? Well, not exactly. The Coke mixed with Mentos will explode.

19

Cinnamon Challenge

Ground_cinnamonSource: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/03/29/149605395/just-say-no-to-the-cinnamon-challenge

The Cinnamon Challenge is not only dumb but incredibly dangerous. After the challenge went viral, it resulted in a number of injuries and hospitalizations. By trying to swallow a spoon full of cinnamon, you risk drying out your throat and swallowing the cinnamon in your lungs, potentially causing pneumonia. So, please don’t do this.

18

Alex from Target

targetSource: http://gawker.com/who-is-alex-from-target-and-why-is-teen-twitter-obsess-1653969291

In a world without the internet, Alex from Target would have just been another kid making minimum wage. But, alas, that world doesn’t exist anymore. In Internet-world, some girl took a photo of Alex and posted it all on Twitter, making him a sensation because he’s good looking. That’s all it takes to go viral. Oh, and did we mention Ellen invited him on her show?

17

"Damn Daniel" Video

danielSource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvk89PQHDIM

How did this go viral? You may be asking yourself that question while watching the “Damn Daniel” video and believe it or not, you’re not alone. Researchers actually studied why videos like this go viral and realized it is much like a contagion. Now, if only we had a cure.

16

Hot Pepper Challenge

pepperSource: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carolina-reaper-is-it-safe-to-try-worlds-hottest-pepper_us_57d8770ce4b0aa4b722d4058

The Carolina Reaper, one of the hottest peppers out there, was the new victim of a dumb challenge. A video of two girls trying to eat the pepper went viral when they obviously failed at devouring the thing whole. And if you’re wondering if its safe, it’s not. It can cause vomiting, seizures, and in extreme cases for children, a potential loss of life.

15

Devil Baby Prank

devil babySource: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/devil-baby-attacks-nyc-thinkmodo_n_4596931.html

Baby videos are a good first start to get something to go viral. But what about a Devil Baby? Yup, that works too. Some pranksters rigged up a stroller with a fake robotic baby inside and put it out on the streets of New York and filmed people’s reactions to the vomiting, devil baby.

14

Netflix and Chill

netflix and chillSource: http://splinternews.com/netflix-and-chill-the-complete-history-of-a-viral-sex-1793850444

At first, the term “Netflix and Chill” was a fancy, modern way of saying “Going home to veg.” No one eats vegetables anymore but they sure like Netflix. But, with the passage of time, the harmless phrase turned into a sexual connotation and before long it went viral. It became such a sensation even Netflix adopted it into their marketing campaigns.

13

Tea Bag Challenge

tea bagsSource: http://limpingchicken.com/2014/09/11/tea-bag-challenge/

Normal people like to drink their tea brewed in hot water but in the Tea Bag Challenge you cut the bag open and eat the ground up leaves.

12

What Color Is The Dress?

dressSource: https://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/

At some point in 2015, most of the world’s population became obsessed with debating world hunger, nuclear proliferation, and climate change until they solved the problem. Just kidding, they freaked out about the color of a dress and debated if it was blue and black or gold and white. Entire articles were dedicated to analyzing the science of this phenomenon. In the end, no one won the debate. But seriously, it’s gold and white.

11

“Leave Britney Alone!”

spearsSource: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/leave-britney-alone-chris-crocker-10-years-later-w502714

When Britney Spears faced ridicule for shoddy dancing and lip-syncing, YouTuber Chris Crocker took to his channel to rant and rave about how mean people were being to Britney. His emotional tirade went viral, hitting 2 million views.

10

Chewbacca Mom

chewbaccaSource: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/life-changed-chewbacca-mom-candace-payne-viral/story?id=44153888

In 2016, Candace Payne put on a toy Chewbacca mask and made a live Facebook video about it. It wasn’t long and the video had millions of views and skyrocketed her to instant fame. She ended up on a number of talk shows and had her fifteen minutes of fame. Fourteen minutes too many.

9

Banana and Sprite Challenge

spriteSource: http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-ridiculous-food-challenges-never-try.php

The Banana and Sprite challenge requires someone to eat two bananas and chug an entire liter of Sprite. The challenge is dumb because you’re expected to vomit it all back up.

8

The “I Don’t Like You” Kid

cookiesSource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8aprCNnecU

Originally posted in 2007, the “I Don’t Like You” kid video now has over 100 million views. It went viral when the kid told his mother he doesn’t like her because she doesn’t give him cookies.

7

Marijuana Loving Newscaster Quits On-Air

foxSource: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/28/charlo-greene-alaska-cannabis-club-reporter-marijuana

In 2014, a newscaster named Charlo Greene, who also happens to be a marijuana legalization advocate in Alaska, let four words slip out on-air that changed her life forever. She said, “F*** it, I quit,” before walking off the set. The video became a viral sensation. Now, because of her illegal involvement with controlled substances, Greene is facing 14 offenses for a possible 54 years in prison.

6

Left Shark

left sharkSource: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/us-sport/national-football-league/left-shark-steals-super-bowl-2015-as-katy-perry-is-upstaged-by-her-out-of-time-support-dancer-10017216.html

At Katy Perry’s Super Half-Time show, she had two backup dancers dressed as sharks and “Left Shark” particularly stole the spotlight. Twitter went crazy over the aquatic predator, giving him his own Twitter account within seconds. But it wasn’t because Left Shark was a great dancer, quite the contrary.

5

Gangnam Style

gangnam styleSource: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7865990/psy-gangnam-style-anniversary-youtube-interview

For some reason in 2012, South Korean rapper Psy’s music video “Gangnam Style” blew up, becoming the most watched YouTube video ever. Everyone was doing the dance and loved listening to the song until they realized, like many trends before it, it’s silly and ridiculous and should be quickly forgotten.

4

Dabbing

Christian_dabbingSource: http://mashable.com/2016/02/06/dabbing-super-bowl/#VJFN82NaSuqr

For those uninformed, dabbing is a dance move where you shove your head into the pit of your elbow and stretch your other hand outward. It caught on quickly, especially among kids, irritating parents and intelligent people everywhere.

3

Flappy Bird

flappy birdSource: https://www.wired.com/2014/02/flappy-bird/

Flappy Bird started out as any other game in the Apple Store until it blew up from obscurity getting so many downloads the owner was making $50,000 a day on the ad revenue. The game was so frustrating it bred a mutual hatred among players but also increased its addictive nature.

2

"Friday" Music Video

rebecca blackSource: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/why-rebecca-blacks-much-mocked-viral-hit-friday-is-actually-good-20110315

By now, everyone knows the legendary “Friday” music video that blew up all over the internet and television. It spawned tons of parodies and jokes and really doesn’t need to be explained. Of course, the whole thing was just a dumb attempt by parents to make their child a pop star. It didn’t really work out the way they intended.

1

Potato Salad Kickstarter

potato saladSource: https://www.polygon.com/2016/7/17/12208840/potato-salad-kickstarter-cookbook-zack-danger-brown

Zack Brown only asked for $10 on Kickstarter to make a bowl of potato salad. He got $55,492. No one really knows how it blew up so fast and so quickly but we all know it’s pretty darn dumb that it did. Brown used the money to throw a free outdoor party he called “PotatoStock 2014” and even released his own cookbook.



Photo: 25. Awesometown (Akiva Schaffer) David Shankbone (Andy Samberg) Christopher Peterson (Jorma Taccone), The Lonely Island, CC BY-SA 3.0, 24. Pixabay.com (Public Domain), 23. Alex Graves from Lugano, Switzerland, Mumbai Airport, CC BY-SA 2.0, 22. MaxPixel.com (Public Domain), 21. Pexels.com (Public Domain), 20. Michael Murphy, Diet Coke Mentos, CC BY-SA 3.0, 19. TheDeliciousLife, Ground cinnamon, CC BY 2.0, 18. No machine-readable author provided. Kelly Martin assumed (based on copyright claims)., Illinois Target Store, CC BY-SA 3.0, 17. Topher McCulloch via flickr. CC BY 2.0, 16. Dale Thurber, Carolina Reaper pepper pods, CC BY-SA 3.0, 15. MaxPixel.com (Public Domain), 14. Nick Travis, Netflix and Chill Graffiti, CC BY-SA 3.0, 13. Naama ym from Tel-Aviv, Israel, Two used tea bags, CC BY-SA 2.0, 12. Topher McCulloch via flickr. CC BY 2.0, 11. Glenn Francis, Britney Spears 2013 (Straighten Crop), CC BY-SA 4.0, 10. Quarax, Star Wars A Galaxy Far, Far Away Chewbacca 4, CC BY-SA 4.0, 9. Wikipedia Commons.com (Public Domain), 8. MaxPixel.com (Public Domain), 7. RenaudTR, FOX 24 News Set, CC BY-SA 4.0, 6. Huntley Paton from Huntersville, N.C., USA Uploaded by C.Jonel, Katy Perry – Super Bowl XLIX Halftime 02, CC BY-SA 2.0, 5. Eva Rinaldi, Psy performing Gangnam Style at the Future Music Festival 2013, CC BY-SA 2.0, 4. Dolson94, Christian dabbing, CC BY-SA 4.0, 3. BagoGames via flickr. CC BY 2.0, 2. methodshop.com via flickr. CC BY 2.0, 1. SajjadF, Potato salad (1), CC BY-SA 3.0