Who is family behind 'Charlie bit my finger'? 2007 viral video NFT sells for $760,999 and will be taken off YouTube
The 2007 viral video, 'Charlie bit my finger' is all set to leave YouTube on May 23. It was formerly the most viewed video on YouTube. This iconic piece of Internet history has more than 882 million view counts as of May 2021.
The Davies-Carr family who owns the home video auctioned it off as a non-fungible token, or NFT, on Sunday for a stunning $760,999.The 56-second-long video was uploaded on YouTube in May 2007. It features two brothers from the United Kingdom, Harry Davies-Carr (aged 3 at the time) and Charlie Davies-Carr (aged 1 at the time).
READ MORE
Who is the family behind 'Charlie bit my finger' video?
The video starts with Harry putting his finger into Charlie's mouth and getting bit. He says "Charlie bit me," and puts his finger back into Charlie's mouth, and gets bitten harder. Harry then says "Ow" repeatedly, and his brother, Charlie giggles. Afterward, Harry says, "Charlie bit me. And that really hurt."
The Davies-Carr family, Howard and Shelly and their three sons, Harry, Charlie and Jasper live in the United Kingdom. The father of the boys, Howard Davies-Carr said that the video was merely "an attempt to capture the boys growing up". Howard originally uploaded the video on YouTube so that the boys' grandfather, who lived in the United States could watch it. He tried sending the file on email but the size was too big, so Howard posted it on YouTube.
The video was originally set to private. "I was just about to remove (the video) before it exploded. but once it had (exploded) I had lost control of the clip anyway so I left it, " Howard said. The boys, Harry and Charlie were shot to fame in their growing years. Their father, Howard, uploaded multiple clips of them, following the viral video. The other videos also feature Jasper, the third child in the family.
Harry, Charlie and Jasper's mother, Shelley Davies-Carr, said talked about the video getting humongous hits and said, "Susan Boyle has never had the hits we have had. The video got on to a college networking site in the U.S. and from there it went viral. I think the British accents have helped make it so globally viewed."
In a 2008 interview with Shelley, she revealed that the boys feel embarrassed when they see themselves on television and that they were "shy about their new fame." In 2009, Howard noted that his sons "are now almost legendary. People want their autographs, it's just crazy." Howard discussed the downside of his sons' accidental fame in a 2012 interview and said, "There are an awful lot of unscrupulous people out there who will try and take advantage of people that don't understand what they have."
"When the boys get to 18, I'd like them to think back and think, 'O.K., I've got something in my life which is more than just what I was when I did the 'Charlie Bit Me' video, " he further added.
How did 'Charlie bit my finger' create history?
'Charlie Bit My Finger' had garnered 2.6 million views on YouTube by February 2008 and 12 million views by March 2008. It became the twelfth most viewed video on YouTube with 65 million views in December 2008. By August 2009, became the second most viewed video and took over as the most viewed video ever at the end of October 2009, surpassing 'Evolution of Dance'.
By November 2009, the video had gained over 130 million views. Apart from being the most viewed, it was also the "most favorited" and the second "most discussed" video on YouTube in the United Kingdom.
As of May 2021, the video had reached 883 million views, with over 2 million likes. Time ranked 'Charlie Bit My Finger' as number one in their list of YouTube's 50 greatest viral videos.