“Charlie Bit My Finger – Again!” is an Internet viral video famous for once being the most viewed YouTube video of all time with over 190 million hits as of June 2010. The 56 second long clip features two British brothers, aged three and one. In the video, the younger brother, Charlie, bites the finger of the older brother, Harry. The boys’ father uploaded the video online in May 2007 so that it could be viewed by their godfather, and it has since become an Internet phenomenon.

Video and background

Even had I thought of trying to get my boys to do this I probably couldn’t have, neither were coerced into any of this and neither were hurt (for very long anyway).
Howard Davies-Carr, father of the boys

The 56 second long video—which was uploaded on YouTube in May 2007—features two English brothers, Harry Davies-Carr (aged three) and Charlie Davies-Carr (aged one). The two are seen sitting in a chair when Harry puts his finger into Charlie’s mouth and gets bitten. Harry, who is hurt, says “ouch” repeatedly and his brother begins to giggle. Afterwards, Harry smiles and says “Charlie bit me”. Howard Davies-Carr, the father of the boys, said the video was “simply an attempt to capture the boys growing up”. While watching the fingerbiting scene on his camera after recording it, it “didn’t particularly stand out”. It was not until he transferred the video onto his computer a few months later and played it again that he realized it was funny. The Vancouver Sun said the funniest part of the video is “the face on Charlie who appears as though he knows what he’s doing.”

The Davies-Carr family lives in England. Howard uploaded the video onto YouTube so that it could be watched by the boys’ godfather, who was residing in the United States. Howard commented on the video: “The clip only went up as I wanted to share it with the boys’ godfather. I was naive about the whole YouTube thing. It became viral and once that happened there was nothing I could do. People have sent lovely comments and messages and I now upload a new video of the boys every six weeks.”

Views

“Charlie Bit My Finger” had received 2.6 million hits on YouTube at the start of February 2008 and 12 million hits in March 2008. In December 2008, it was the twelfth most viewed video on YouTube with 65 million hits. In April the following year, the video had received 92 million hits. It became the second most viewed video of all time in August 2009, and took over the title as the most viewed video ever at the end of October 2009, when it replaced Evolution of Dance. As of November 2009, “Charlie Bit My Finger” had received over 130 million hits. In addition to being the most viewed, it was also the “most favourited” and the second “most discussed” video on the website in the United Kingdom. In a May 2009 report compiled by Visible Measures, which measures video hits across 150 video-sharing websites, “Charlie Bit My Finger” was the thirteenth most viewed viral video of all time on the Internet. As of May 2010, the video has over 190 million views, only surpassed by the music video for “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga.

Impact

As a result of the video’s success, the boys have gained stardom. Harry and Charlie have their own blog and video series, and “Charlie Bit My Finger” T-shirts and limited edition calendars have been made. Shelley Davies-Carr, the mother, commented on the success: “Susan Boyle has never had the hits we have had. The video got on to a college networking site in the US and from there it went viral. I think the British accents have helped make it so globally viewed.” According to Shelley, the boys get embarrassed when they see themselves on television. She also noted that they are “shy about their new fame.” Howard commented that his sons “are now almost legendary. People want their autographs, it’s just crazy.”

According to the Daily Mail, fan clubs dedicated to Harry and Charlie have been established around the world. According to The Times, web experts believe the Davies-Carr family could earn £100,000 from “Charlie Bit My Finger”, mostly from advertisements shown during the video.

In their list of YouTube’s 50 greatest viral videos of all time, Time ranked “Charlie Bit My Finger” at number one.