I have never been into many internet challenges that pop up on social media, rage for a couple of weeks, then burn out as swiftly as they came. They don't grasp my interest: no, I'm not going to eat cinnamon and let it clump and clog my airways or drink a Tide pod and end up calling poison control, and I'm certainly not going to dance like crazy for the Harlem Shake. Like many other trends, they could only hold my attention for so long before I was bored and scrolled on by.
Perhaps what was so exciting for me about the Mr. Sandman Challenge is that, unlike its predecessors, I saw the video that started it all before the challenge was born.
The original video depicts an upward view while a person holds their adorable orange cat and weaves him in and out of the frame, all while the opening and first lyric of Mr. Sandman by The Chordettes plays. What made it catch my attention, besides the fact that the cat was precious, was that the motions he did set really well to the song. I mean, he was clapping in time to the beat. Plus, I knew the song from the movie Uncle Buck, so that was cool for me too.
I sent the video to my sister, I showed it to my mom, and I told all my friends about it because I thought everyone deserved to see this masterpiece, whether they knew the song or loved cats. Then, to my delight, I saw a copycat video, and another, and another. With the hashtag #mrsandmanchallenge, I knew I had witnessed the beginning of the most adorable internet challenge to date, and I was, and still am, absolutely here for it.
In theme to the original video, many people are now copying with videos of their cats, but some are using their dogs or just themselves (which is not cute frankly). It's fun to watch to not only look at the animals but also see the creative adaptations the pet owners put into the video. Some are better than others (I still think the original is the best), but every video is unique.
To be honest, no one wants to watch people plump their lips, flip a plastic bottle, or literally stand there and do nothing. The Mr. Sandman Challenge is the kind of internet trend that I'll spend my time watching: something that is innocent, fun, creative, and has good music. Oh, and features cats.
