2007·Early YouTube·wholesome
Charlie bit my finger
You might remember it as Charlie bit me, Charlie bit my finger - again !
- SourceLikely original upload
- MediaPlayable from the source
The most-watched thing on YouTube for four years, and a video whose entire content is two small children and a bitten finger.
The line people quote“Charlie bit me”
What this was
Two brothers sit in a chair together. The younger one bites the older one’s finger; the older one puts it back and is bitten harder, protests, and then laughs anyway. It runs fifty-six seconds.
It first appeared in 2007, during early YouTube. A surviving copy is on YouTube.
It was uploaded to be shown to the boys’ grandfather, because the file was too large to email — not to an audience, and not for anything. It overtook Evolution of Dance in October 2009 to become the most-viewed video on YouTube, which it stayed for years, and it is the standing counterexample to the idea that a viral video is made.
The family auctioned the video as an NFT in May 2021 for about $761,000. The buyer initially considered taking it down for good; it was off YouTube until January 2024, and is back.
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Grouped by explicit relationships where evidence exists, and by shared theme otherwise.
What we knowWhere it came from
High-confidence original source.
Earliest known source: YouTube
Created by Howard Davies-Carr. Established by research, not by who posted the copy shown here.
- What happens
- Two brothers sit in a chair together. The younger one bites the older one’s finger; the older one puts it back and is bitten harder, protests, and then laughs anyway. It runs fifty-six seconds.
- When
- Originally published 22 May 2007.
- Where
- Known on YouTube.