Allow me to bring a little nostalgia and cuteness to your Monday. Ten years ago today, an all-time classic video was posted to YouTube: “Surprised Kitty,” featuring an adorable little kitten looking surprised when its mom plays peekaboo. Look at this little snug bug!
YouTube Decade makes me yearn for the simpler days of ‘Surprised Kitty’
We had it good back then
We had it good back then
Image: rozzzafly (YouTube)
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
What reminded me to mention this? A cool website called YouTube Decade, made by Bennett Feely, which shows you the videos that have gotten the most views since the day they were uploaded 10 years ago today.
I’ve been checking into YouTube Decade regularly for the past couple months. Some that have taken me down memory lane: “Mario Party 2: Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing” (still cracks me up), the Annoying Orange (still cringey), and Beyoncé’s “Halo” music video (OMG “Halo” is 10 years old???).
Much like YouTube itself, YouTube Decade isn’t always fun. More than a few of the top “pets & animals” videos are of animals humping; a stark reminder that YouTube has struggled for years with inappropriate content that gets engagement due to its shock value.
But when something like “Surprised Kitty” shows up, it’s a nice reminder of a simpler time on the internet — even if YouTubers used to post a lot of iffy content back then, too.
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