Back in the days before Vine and Musical.ly (now Tik Tok), YouTube was the only way for videos to go viral, and between 2002 and 2016, the Internet was blessed with some quality content. Growing up in the 2000s put people in my generation at a prime time in online media for most of our childhood, so here are 16 videos all 2000s kids will be sure to recognize, and in many cases, sing along to.
1. "Peanut Butter Jelly Time"
Before appearing on Family Guy, the Peanut Butter Jelly song was on YouTube, with a black screen and a tiny dancing banana.
2. "OK Go — Here It Goes Again"
How these guys danced on treadmills without falling still transfixes me to this day.
3. "Shoes"
This video never fails to make me laugh.
4. "Zombie Kid Likes Turtles"
Kids saying weird stuff really had a moment way back when.
5. "Leave Britney Alone"
This masterpiece originated the phrase "Leave Britney Alone," and I also see it as a precursor to the Kim Kardashian crying meme.
6. "Charlie Bit My Finger"
"Owww!"
7. "Keyboard Cat"
This was the first segment I ever watched on the Ellen Show back when it came out. And the two boys even shot a 10-year anniversary version.
8. "Dramatic Chipmunk"
Dramatic chipmunk may or may not be the first meme.
9. "Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise"
I remember binge-watching the whole series back in 2010.
10. "Cooking by the Book remix Ft. Lil John"
Warning: "Lazy Town" is so much better with Lil John.
11. "Bed Intruder Song"
He's climbing in your windows, he's snatching your people up.
12. "The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger"
If you're a Hufflepuff like me, you were definitely shown this a dozen times.
13. "Friday"
My middle school blared this over the speakers every Friday for a year for the daily song (instead of a homeroom bell, we had to be in homeroom by the end of the song).
14. "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That"
Everyone would respond to everything with "ain't nobody got time for that" for weeks after this became a hit.
15. "Where's the Chapstick?!?"
This will be stuck in your head for days, watch at your own risk.
16. "Damn Daniel"
This video was such a ~thing~ in late 2016.
17. "PPAP (Pen Pineapple Apple Pen)"
I still think this is where Apple came up with the Apple Pen.
