Last Updated on: 26th June 2023, 08:06 pm
Another classic piece of internet culture was auctioned in the six-figure range. This is the latest viral sensation of the 2000s getting excited by digital collectors of “non-fungible tokens” or NFTs.
The personal video “Charlie Bit My Finger” sold for nearly $760,999 on Sunday, the 14th anniversary of its debut.
In the 55-second YouTube clip from 2007, a British child named Harry captures his little brother Charlie.
But the delightful domestic scene takes a sudden turn when Harry sticks his index finger into his brother’s mouth and, to his surprise, squeezes Charlie, uttering the heavily memorized lines: “Ouch, Charlie” and “Charlie, this really hurts”.
With over 883 million views, it is one of the most popular videos on YouTube, although it will soon be removed from the platform.
The Davies-Carr family announced that they would remove it after the Sunday auction, claiming that the highest bidder would become “the sole owner of this delightful piece of Internet history,” though they sure have copied, shared, and revisited this many times on the Internet had published.
‘3fmusic’ wins the auction
The auction attracted bids from 11 accounts and sparked a bidding war between users “mememaster” and “3fmusic”, the latter ultimately winning with a bid of $ 760,999.
NFT collectibles, essentially digital assets with a certificate of authenticity created by the blockchain, have grown in popularity over the past year.
While the idea of buying something infinitely repeatable may confuse some, a manic appetite for NFTs has taken hold in markets around the world as buyers vie for the boastful rights of a certified original.
Early internet memorabilia, including memes, GIFs, photos, and videos, performed particularly well.
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In March, Twitter boss Jack Dorsey sold his first 2006 tweet, titled “Just set up my Twitter,” for $2.9 million to a Malaysia-based businessman.
An anonymous shopper grabbed Nyan Cat, a 10-year-old animation of a flying rainbow cat with a pop art body, for $590,000 the previous month. And Disaster Girl, a 16-year-old photo of a sly smiling toddler with a burning house in the background, was bought last month by a Dubai-based music studio for 180 Ethereum, which was nearly $500,000 at the time.
