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27 Viral Sensations That Only Gen Zers And Millennials Will Remember

A compilation of all your favorite viral sensations from internet days gone by.

Quinn Mullally
by Quinn Mullally

Community Contributor

BuzzFeed Community Team
Approved and edited by BuzzFeed Community Team

1. Potter Puppet Pals

Ron, Dumbledore, Snape, Harry, and Hermione as crudely constructed hand puppets
Neil Cicierega / Via youtube.com

"Snape. Snape. Severus Snape. (DUMBLEDORE!)" Did this song get stuck in anyone else's head until they remembered every single word?

2. Charlie the Unicorn

Charlie and zany "Friends" on their journey toward Candy Mountain
FilmCow / Via youtube.com

These videos were first uploaded during the early days of YouTube (about 12 years ago to be exact). It's wild how time flies!

3. Smosh

One half of the early Smosh team holding a tube of beef
Smosh / Via youtube.com

Does "Beef 'n Go" ring any bells? This YouTube channel was one of the first to gain wide-spread fame with the creators as the face of the channel.

4. "I'm a Barbie Girl"

Danish Europop music group, Aqua, in a plastic Barbie car in the "Barbie Girl" music video
Universal MCA

Although this song has been around for quite some time, I remember first seeing the music video in the early days of YouTube.

5. Club Penguin

A Club Penguin user getting banned for saying bitch throw one more snowball at me
Club Penguin / Via buzzfeed.com

Did you even have a childhood if you weren't banned from Club Penguin at least once? Yes, I know many of you probably haven't forgotten about this gem of a game, but the nostalgia it brings makes it worthy of being on this list.

6. Charlie Bit My Finger

Charlie – a baby – bit his big brother's finger
HDCYT / Via youtube.com

This is probably one of the most overplayed videos of all time, but who else remembers it being on the news and having every extended family member show it to you?

7. The Gummy Bear Song

A green living gummy bear singing into a retro microphone
The Official Gummibär Channel / Via youtube.com

This is one that I'm pretty glad was left in the past where it belongs, but I still get a chuckle seeing that gummy bear jiggle.

8. Rage Comics

Virus_Kid @_Virus_Kid_

This is how you look not using rage comics in 2020.

Reply Retweet Favorite
@_Virus_Kid_ / Via Twitter: @search

These comics were some of the first internet memes that allowed users to create their own content, ushering in the meme-based society that we know and love/hate today.

9. Baman Piderman

A crudely drawn Batman and Spider-Man
MondoMedia / Via youtube.com

Did anyone else's parents hear this from the other room and tell you this kind of stuff was going to rot your brain?

10. Planking

A man planking on an escalator
Nuttaz / Via youtube.com

You know you did it. Don't lie to me or yourself.

11. Keyboard Cat

A cat in a t-shirt playing a piano
Keyboard Cat 2020 / Via youtube.com

What a good kitty! I hope he didn't mind his owner having some fun! Not to be a Debbie Downer, but... the cat, Fatso, died in 1987... 33 years ago.

12. The Duck Song

An animated duck getting some lemonade from a kid's home-made stand
forrestfire101 / Via youtube.com

Hey! Got any grapes?

13. Cool Story Bro

Chuck Norris from the film Dodgeball giving an over-friendly thumbs up
‎Red Hour Films/Austin Allie

Cool list bro, tell me more about irrelevant memes.

14. Epic Rap Battles of History

Skrillex and Mozart battling it out via rap
ERB / Via youtube.com

Who had a fun teacher in school that would play these videos?

15. Le Mustache

A t-shirt with the pun "I mustache you a question" on it
Hot Topic/Austin Allie / Via hottopic.com

Some things should stay in the past. The cartoon mustache obsession of the early 2010s is certainly one of them.

16. Tebowing

Tosh of Tosh.0 laughing at a photo of Tim Tebow bowing dramatically
Comedy Central / Via knowyourmeme.com

At school? At the mall? We should Tebow right now! Wouldn't that be so funny? Hahaha just kidding. Unless...

17. Shake Weights

NBC / Via giphy.com

Moms everywhere bought them, and the world collectively couldn't stop laughing!

18. Swag

The nerdy kid from the Breakfast Club putting on sunglasses trying to be cool
A&M Films/Austin Allie

People used this word like an 11-year-old who just learned how to swear.

19. Nyan Cat

A pop-tart/cat hybrid flying through the sky with a rainbow trailing behind it
@PRGUITARMAN / Via nyan.cat

"Hey, have you guys seen the video with the Pop-tart Cat?" I said to my friends in 2011 – aka, EIGHT YEARS AGO.

20. Table Topping

Two guys table topping a kid and that kid falling to the ground
Ariyan Nahian/Austin Allie / Via youtube.com

Just like a hit to the nuts, it's funny until it happens to you.

21. Slenderman

An unlucky player runs into Slenderman in the middle of a dark forest
Vividplays Channel / Via youtube.com

Let's be honest – this blank-faced ghoul fueled our childhood nightmares. He still gives me the creeps! Catch me outside in the woods after dark? I don't think so.

22. Grumpy Cat

An incredibly grumpy looking cat with a huge scowl on her face
Real Grumpy Cat / Via youtube.com

Grumpy Cat cashed in on her fame, and it's still one of my favorite memes. I've felt how she looked on a number of occasions. Miss her.

23. RKO!

View this video on YouTube
Planet2050 / Via youtube.com

Whether in a video, a meme, or on the street, the RKO was always a surprise!

24. The Ice-Bucket Challenge

President Obama pouring a bucket of icy water over his head
IamReggieBrown / Via youtube.com

A viral sensation for a good cause... It was a simpler time when all you had to worry about was whether or not the bucket was going to hit you in the head.

25. Musical.ly

@jacobsartorius / Via youtube.com

These were some of the funniest (and cringiest) videos I've ever seen or helped produce. When these videos made the rounds at school, no one could stop laughing!

26. Here Come Dat Boi

Animation Factory / Via tenor.com

O shit waddup!

27. And last but not least, Harambe

A news clip of Harambe in captivity
CNN / Via youtube.com

Is it too soon? Never forget. Harambe is with us always.

Are there any viral sensations that we missed?

Salad Fingers, a guy owling, and Kelly looking at shoes
David Firth/ELawshea/LiamKyleSullivan / Via youtube.com

Be sure to let us know which memes we left out and add links to your favorites in the comments!

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