Ouch, Charlie! Don’t leave us!
The Davies-Carr family, who posted one of YouTube’s most-watched viral videos, “Charlie bit my finger,” back in 2007, announced that the beloved clip will be deleted from YouTube on May 23 and auctioned off as an NFT.
An NFT, which stands for non-fungible token, gives buyers sole ownership of an original and unique digital work. Over the past few months we’ve seen popular internet memes, images, and videos sold as NFTs. In Feb. 2021, the Nyan Cat meme sold as an NFT for around $600,000. In May, the “Disaster Girl” meme sold for more than $500,000. And “Charlie bit my finger” is about to join the club.
The charming home movie, which remains one of the most memorable viral clips of the 2000s, shows a then eight-year-old British toddler named Harry holding his then six-year-old brother Charlie. Over the course of the 55-second video, Charlie bites Harry’s finger twice and a series of toddler laughter, tears, and adorable quotes — including “Ouch, Charlie!” and “Charlie bit me!” — ensue.
The two brothers, who are now teenagers (Harry, 17 and Charlie, 15), see the auction as “the perfect opportunity to embrace the next iteration of the internet,” according to a statement on charliebitme.com.
In addition to being the sole owner of this internet relic, the highest bidder in the NFT auction will get a chance to create their own parody of the viral video with the video’s two original stars.
The auction opened at 10:00 a.m. ET on May 22, and the video, shown below, will be removed from YouTube on Sunday, May 23. You can stay up-to-date with bids here before the auction closes on May 23 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
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Get your final views in now, folks. And say goodbye to yet another iconic component of the good internet era.