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Wiz Khalifa snags the YouTube crown from 'Gangnam Style'
For a while, it looked as if Psy's "Gangnam Style" would have an unassailable lead as the most-viewed YouTube video. After all, the catchy K-Pop tune was so popular that it broke YouTube's view counter. However, it's time to crown a new champion. As of 5:30PM Eastern on July 10th, the music video for Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again" is the most played YouTube clip of all time -- people had seen the sentimental tribute to Paul Walker 2,894,026,649 times at the moment of the official count. Psy had a good 5-year run, but it's evident that he's far from alone in the 2 billion club.
The After Math: Pop culture phenoms
Quentin Tarantino is taking some serious flack this week for his comments on the #BlackLivesMatter debate. As such, we're taking a look at some other franchises that are sure to get your geek blood pumping harder than the first time you listened to Gangnam Style. Here are the numbers you deserve, not the numbers you need right now.
PSY is finally getting the monument he deserves in Seoul
PSY's "Gangnam Style" is so recognizable, the second it starts to play people know what to do. To commemorate the track that broke YouTube's view counter, the Gangnam District Office announced that it will be erecting a statue in PSY's honor because, why the hell not? The structure will be two interlocking wrists symbolic of the song's horse-riding dance move and will contain sensors in it that will trigger Gangnam Style to play when you're standing under it. It will be built in the eponymous upscale Seoul district, so if you're ever in the area make sure you stop by and check out a ridiculous statue commemorating an even more ridiculous tune.
YouTube's view counter wasn't ready for 'Gangnam Style'
In 2012, South Korean singer PSY took the world by storm with his "Gangnam Style" music video, which eventually turned into a super, mega hit and an overall internet sensation. Along the way, the video also became the first one ever to get to 1 billion views on YouTube, a number that hasn't stopped growing since being reached. Speaking of which, the Google-owned service revealed that "Gangnam Style" pushed the original view counter to its limits, so much so that it stopped counting at one point. "We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer [2,147,483,647 views], but that was before we met PSY," YouTube stated in a blog post.
World's smallest FM transmitter built with graphene, ruined by Psy
Researchers have been using graphene to develop an assortment of technologically advanced things for a while, from camera sensors and contact lenses all the way to frickin' lasers. That's why it's not a surprise to see a group of engineers from Columbia University create the world's smallest FM transmitter using the atom-thick material. The end product isn't just for show, either, as it can pump tunes over the airwaves to a regular FM radio -- the team even used Gangnam Style to prove that it works. As interesting as the teensy transmitter is, the engineers have no plans to build a radio for ants, and this is merely part of a larger study into nano-electromechanical systems. Now all we need is for someone to make a tiny violin and a pair of tweezers small enough for us to play.
Gangnam Style becomes first YouTube video to hit one billion views
Congratulations -- you've survived the end of the world! As you must have heard by now, the apocalypse warnings were absurd and your life is set to continue unchanged... or is it? PSY's Gangnam Style, which exhausted all entertainment value long before its popularity began spiraling out of control, has just become the first YouTube video in history to clock up a billion views (yes, you read that right... 1,000,000,000). We can only assume from this that the Mayans were right, and that the world is soon to descend into anarchy and chaos at the realization that PSY is basically the most important person in internet media, ever. We recommend locking your doors and prioritizing your perishables -- when you start hearing a faint hum in your head, and feel your wrists being drawn together against your will, you'll know its starting.
Caption Contest: Eric Schmidt does 'Gangnam Style' with PSY
Did you honestly think Eric Schmidt went all the way to Seoul just to launch the Nexus 7 for South Korea, hang out with Samsung's JK Shin and moan about the patent war with Apple? Of course not. The Google chairman also found some time to learn the legendary "invisible horse" dance with PSY, the charismatic oppa in the Korean chart-topper Gangnam Style. While Google Korea was happy to supply a few photos, the only video we could dig up was a surprisingly short one hosted by Daum -- it's embedded right after the break. Brian: "Man, not being the CEO of a multinational corporation sure is hard work." Terrence: "I see you are a fellow disciple of the Carlton Banks school of dance." Don: "Gangnam Style, 2012-2012." Billy: "This song is really about the time I set my socks on fire. I see you still have yours. One moment." Edgar: "Hm... I think we forgot the horse." Richard Lai: "OK Eric, now let's do the elevator scene." Dan: "Doenjang Girls, would you like to buy a Nexus 7? It's wayyy more expensive than a latté." Darren: "Soooo glad this guy put this video on YouTube and not Vimeo. $$$$$$$$" Jon Fingas: "Oppan Google sty-- no, even I can't go that far."
