Viral video ‘Charlie bit my finger’ to be removed from YouTube after its NFT auction
The iconic video will be removed from YouTube on May 23, and one person will have the opportunity to own it in its new form as an NFT (non-fungible token).
There are a lot of feel-good viral videos online that you cannot help but watch over and over again—mostly of cuddly pets and of course, adorable kids and babies. One particular video that has become a household name is the classic “Charlie bit my finger—again!” that has spawned memes, GIFs, Halloween costumes, and parodies.
In the 56-second video—which has often been referred to as the “original viral video”—brothers Harry and Charlie Davies-Carr, then aged three and one, respectively, sit on a couch as they are being filmed by their parents. Charlie grabbed his older brother’s finger and puts it in his mouth. Harry giggled and said, “Charlie bit me.”
Seemingly amused, Harry puts his finger into Charlie’s mouth again and the little one chomped a bit harder on the finger. Harry, who is hurt, cries “ouch” repeatedly as Charlie starts to giggle. Eventually, the one-year-old lets go of the finger and after settling down for a bit, Harry smiles and says, “Charlie bit me. And that really hurt.”
As of this writing, the viral video, uploaded in May 2007, has been viewed by over 880 million people on YouTube. On May 22, the video will be up for auction as an NFT through the Origin platform.
The day after the auction, which coincides with the 14th anniversary of its original uploading (May 23), the video will be removed from YouTube and will be handed out to the auction winner. According to charliebitme.com, the NFT winner will also have the opportunity to create his or her own video parody featuring the original stars, Harry and Charlie.
Information on how much the video will fetch for was not revealed before the auction but according to Paper, the price could be based on what Origin previously earned for its NFTs, including an $11.7 million sale for the first ever crypto albums from 3LAU. One of the songs from the Ultraviolet album reportedly sold for over $3.6 million.
Harry and Charlie, who both live in the UK, are now 17 and 15 respectively. Their website says, “The Charlie Bit My Finger" video has been a huge part of the Davies-Carr family’s lives for the past 14 years, and they are excited to welcome others to become a part of their story. This is not the end of the beloved video, but rather a new beginning.”
Update:
The Charlie Bit My Finger video was sold as an NFT for $760,999 on May 23. According to www.charliebitme.com, 11 active bidders joined the auction that started with $99,999 bid. In the end, bidder with the username 3fmusic won the auction and became the sole owner of the lovable piece.
As of this writing, the video is still up on YouTube, with an updated title that says, “Waiting for NFT decision.”
NFTs are unique digital assets, which include artworks, viral memes, even GIFs. Interest in NFTs is on the rise, as seen in recent notable auctions, including Merriam-Webster’s definition of NFT (“a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership.”) and the “Disaster Girl” meme, which fetched for nearly half a million dollars.
Most recently, British model and actress Cara Delevingne announced she is auctioning a digital spoken word artwork for charity, a 30-second clip of her talking in celebration of her vagina and what it means to her.
