Me at the zoo

So the video is 19 seconds, one guy standing in front of the zoo elephants back in 2005, and it turns out this is the very first thing ever posted on YouTube, and right now the comments are full of people who got it shoved onto their feed today with no clue why

3am gang: ok who else got this on their feed like 5 minutes ago for literally no reason

still not trending: the first youtube video ever and it just casually showed up like a normal recommendation

first video fr??: wait THIS is the first one?? the whole first video is just a guy at a zoo??

verified gang pls: GUYS we are standing on sacred ground rn i cannot breathe

not a bot i swear: half this comment section is younger than the video and you can absolutely tell

20 years ago hurts: it says 21 years ago and something in my chest just went quiet

20 years ago hurts sits there rereading the 21 years part like it personally insulted him

first video fr??: 21 years?? this thing is way older than me lol

3am gang: im watching this at 3am on the other side of the planet why are we all here at once

still not trending: the algorithm woke up and chose nostalgia today

verified gang pls clutching her phone like she found a backstage pass

not a bot i swear: nobodys subscribing nobodys searching it just appears, thats the eerie part

20 years ago hurts: i didnt choose to feel old today the recommended tab did it to me

first video fr??: so nobody actually knows why we got it? we all just showed up?

3am gang: showed up 21 years late to a party that somehow never ended

not a bot i swear scrolling and hitting comments posted seconds ago

still not trending: meanwhile my videos cant get recommended to my own mom

still not trending types that and then just stares at his own channel tab

verified gang pls: wait if the FIRST video is this tiny then theres hope for all of us right

20 years ago hurts: dont say hope i came here to be sad in peace

the details sink in, this guy is Jawed, one of the people who literally built YouTube, and the comments are arguing about who really said first while treating him like a monument

verified gang pls: his name is Jawed and he CO FOUNDED youtube do you understand what that means

not a bot i swear: hes the only human alive allowed to comment 'first' and actually mean it

first video fr??: wait he made youtube AND posted the first video? thats kinda insane

still not trending: built the whole app just to flex a zoo video, respect honestly

20 years ago hurts: guy is gonna be in actual history books and i cant get past a phone interview

20 years ago hurts shrinks a little the second he hits send

verified gang pls: hes bangladeshi btw and people in the comments are so proud its so wholesome

3am gang: theres verified accounts and total randoms from every country in one thread its wild

not a bot i swear: someone swears theyve 'worked at youtube since 2008' to prove this is the first video lol

first video fr??: did they actually work there??

first video fr?? leans in like the fake employee might be telling the truth

not a bot i swear: no u he admitted he was lying like two replies down

not a bot i swear grinning at the fake employee thread

still not trending: the confidence to lie about your job under the first youtube video though

20 years ago hurts: even the museum calls it the first video, imagine your zoo trip being a museum piece

3am gang: and here i am contributing nothing to history from a dorm far past midnight

verified gang pls bouncing while she types every fact she knows about him

first video fr??: so this one plain looking clip started ALL of youtube? cat videos everything?

still not trending: everything. every 3am horror animation traces back to these elephants

20 years ago hurts: dont romanticize it im still not over the history books thing

someone finally hits play, and the whole legendary video is just the guy pointing at elephants saying they have really really long trunks and that thats cool, and the room falls apart

first video fr??: ok i finally watched it. the elephants have really really long trunks. and thats cool

20 years ago hurts: 20 years of internet built on 'and thats cool' im gonna lose it

verified gang pls: the first line ever spoken on youtube is basically 'so here we are we got elephants' ICONIC

still not trending: no sponsor no intro no smash that like, he just respected our time in 2005

not a bot i swear: people in the comments are quoting the trunk line like its shakespeare

first video fr??: i mean.. he IS right though. they are really long

first video fr?? nodding at the elephants completely serious

3am gang: the more you know ☆ energy except the fact is just trunks long

still not trending: meanwhile i script my videos for 3 hours and pull 40 views

still not trending types it half laughing half genuinely hurt

20 years ago hurts: he said thats cool twice and got 400 million views, art is dead

verified gang pls: the description literally says the background music is darude sandstorm im crying

verified gang pls wheezing at the sandstorm line in the description

not a bot i swear: the sandstorm bit is such an old meme its basically a fossil at this point

first video fr??: whats darude sandstorm

20 years ago hurts: and THAT is the sound of me crumbling into dust, thank you hajun

still not trending: i genuinely want a part 2, give us the giraffes

3am gang: part 2 after 21 years would end civilization lets be real

first video fr?? replaying the 19 seconds for the third time in a row

verified gang pls: im adding 'they have really really long trunks' to my bio right now

the comments pivot to one joke on repeat, the video is old enough to drink now, and everyone starts doing the math on how old that makes them

20 years ago hurts: everyones saying this video can legally drink now and i physically felt that one

still not trending: 21 years old. this video can order a beer and i still get carded

first video fr??: wait its OLDER than some of the people watching it?? thats so weird

verified gang pls: someone said this video is half as old as their mom and i have not recovered

3am gang: someone said in europe it couldve been drinking 3 years ago, timezones for age now too lol

not a bot i swear: the younger than this video club is filling up fast down there

20 years ago hurts quietly doing the birthday math and immediately regretting it

first video fr??: im in that club. proudly. i think

20 years ago hurts: you say proudly, i say the video watched me grow up and did nothing to help

still not trending: this video has a more stable career than me and it hasnt moved in 21 years

still not trending laughs at his own line and then stops laughing

verified gang pls: happy 21st birthday to a zoo video, i love this timeline

3am gang: seeing '20 years ago' on a video just hits different this late ngl

not a bot i swear: someones comment literally says it makes them unc, painfully accurate

first video fr??: whats unc

20 years ago hurts: unc is what you become the second you ask what unc means, welcome aboard

first video fr?? typing the question already bracing for the roast

still not trending: the elephants aged better than all of us honestly

verified gang pls: ok but imagine being 21 and never once filing taxes, this video won at life

3am gang smiling tired at the screen

everyone notices the same eerie thing, the video says 21 years ago but the comments underneath are all seconds old, like the whole internet keeps walking back into the same room

not a bot i swear: video: 21 years ago. comments: 4 seconds ago. time is fake in here

3am gang: i love that we all arrived separately and somehow all at once

first video fr??: someone replied 3 mins ago to a comment from 12 hours ago its an endless chain

20 years ago hurts: its like a train station that hasnt closed in 21 years

still not trending: every comment is basically why did i get recommended this and yet here we all are

verified gang pls: someone said the algorithm brought us together again and im emotional about it

verified gang pls goes quiet reading the reunion comments

first video fr??: so we're all strangers who got the same weird nudge on the same day?

3am gang: strangers in every timezone. someones morning is my midnight is your afternoon

not a bot i swear: and every single one of us checked the date and went no way

not a bot i swear scanning the timestamps in disbelief

20 years ago hurts: i keep scrolling for an old comment and cant find one older than a day, its cursed

still not trending: someone bragged they found an 11 year old comment saying the zoo is not for you

20 years ago hurts digging through replies hunting for an ancient one

first video fr??: wait people are treasure hunting for old comments now? thats kind of sweet

verified gang pls: finding a 15 year old comment is the new achievement unlocked

3am gang: we turned a zoo clip into a group reunion nobody even organized lol

not a bot i swear: no host no plan just the algorithm herding us back every year

still not trending stops scrolling for a second just taking it in

still not trending: kinda beautiful. dont tell anyone i said that

20 years ago hurts: too late its timestamped forever now, unc

the mood cracks when everyone scrolls into the swarm, self promoters and sub2sub spam and bots stacked higher than a mountain, and the room starts swatting them

not a bot i swear: ok the bots down here are stacked higher than everest and im not exaggerating

still not trending: every third comment is sub2sub and a link, my guy this is a memorial not a mall

verified gang pls: they really came to the FIRST youtube video to beg for subs, no shame at all

first video fr??: whats sub2sub

not a bot i swear: its two people promising to sub each other and both instantly lying, welcome again

not a bot i swear mass reporting spam replies one after another

20 years ago hurts: someone just screamed the comment section is ruined and honestly fair

still not trending: self promoters under the most historic video ever, the audacity is almost impressive

3am gang: someone replied no u to a bot and the bot replied no u right back, peak internet

verified gang pls: the no u chain goes like nine replies deep im deceased 💀

first video fr??: i posted im not a bot and now im scared that sounds exactly like a bot

first video fr?? second guessing his own comment nervously

not a bot i swear: someone said youtube needs an oldest comments first button, smartest thing in here

20 years ago hurts: imagine actually reaching the 2005 comments under all this spam, real archaeology

still not trending: a real creator cant get seen but a link bot pulls 40 replies, love that for me

still not trending muttering about the algorithm again under his breath

verified gang pls: someone typed racist against bots? reported. and i cannot breathe

3am gang: to everyone here whos not a bot, have a great day, i mean it from my night shift

first video fr??: wait are YOU a bot

not a bot i swear: no u

not a bot i swear throwing the no u right back without hesitation

then the room spots them, blue check accounts and actual famous creators are commenting here too, and one of them turns out to be a huge musician, and the fans lose it

verified gang pls: GUYS ALAN WALKER IS IN THE COMMENTS. ALAN WALKER. AYO???

first video fr??: wait actual famous people comment here too??

still not trending: the whole verified gang showed up to the same zoo video like its a class reunion

3am gang: someone said i wanna be part of the verified gang action and same honestly

not a bot i swear: you can tell whos verified because their reply thread instantly hits 500 and locks

verified gang pls: im replying to alan walker even if he never sees it, this is my roman empire now

verified gang pls typing in all caps with visibly shaking hands

20 years ago hurts: celebrities feeling nostalgic about the same clip as me, we're all just people i guess

still not trending: meanwhile im verified in my own heart and thats where the recognition ends

first video fr??: who else is famous down there? is it just musicians?

3am gang: high profile accounts from everywhere, its like the whole internet clocked in

not a bot i swear: someone scrolled forever just to find one comment that WASNT verified lol

not a bot i swear scrolling past a solid wall of blue checks

verified gang pls: if a celebrity likes my reply im framing the notification

20 years ago hurts: the one time being early to a video means nothing because they were early too

still not trending: imagine your zoo trip pulling a bigger crowd than every video i ever made combined

still not trending types the whole thing completely deadpan

first video fr??: so the first video is also the biggest celebrity meetup, this thing does everything

3am gang: reunion of strangers AND stars, from way past midnight here, i cant

verified gang pls beaming at the verified thread

the comments turn into a running bit, the guy supposedly never left the zoo, and everyone starts writing sequels and birthday wishes for a 19 second clip

still not trending: legend says hes still standing at that zoo 21 years later

first video fr??: wait is he actually still there?? no way right

20 years ago hurts: no hajun its a bit. probably. i hope

verified gang pls: someone said if he posts me leaving the zoo it ends youtube and i BELIEVE it

not a bot i swear: the sequel everyones begging for is literally me at the aquarium, give the man a franchise

3am gang: me at the zoo 2005, me at the zoom 2020, someone wrote and i felt that

3am gang snorting at the zoom joke

first video fr??: part 2 me at the aquarium would pull a billion views easy

still not trending: he could film a blank wall and it would trend, thats the power of being first

20 years ago hurts: everyones going happy birthday jawed like the video itself is a person now

verified gang pls: it IS a person to me. happy 21st you beautiful zoo clip

verified gang pls throwing a tiny one woman party in the chat

not a bot i swear: someones fighting in the replies about whether its 20 or 21 depending on timezone lol

first video fr??: the age discourse literally never ends huh

3am gang: its always someones tomorrow somewhere, the birthday just loops forever

still not trending: i wanna believe he checks these once a year and just goes neat

20 years ago hurts: if he ever reads this thread hell think we all lost our minds and hed be right

first video fr?? already drafting his own me at the aquarium comment

verified gang pls: im writing my sequel pitch in the replies wish me luck

not a bot i swear: no u wrote a whole sequel? bold move

not a bot i swear grinning while reusing his favorite two words

the joking slows down and the comments get soft, everyone lands on the same thought, if youtube ever ended this is the video that should play at the very end

20 years ago hurts: someone said if youtube ever ends this video should play at the credits and now im not ok

verified gang pls: dont make me cry over elephants. i will though

3am gang: it started here so ending here would actually be perfect, full circle

first video fr??: kinda crazy my whole internet life started with a guy and some trunks

still not trending: one video did what my whole channel couldnt, and im weirdly at peace with it

still not trending closes his own channel tab for once

not a bot i swear: the bots are still here but so are we, thats the internet i guess

20 years ago hurts: 21 years and it still feels recent, that line got me the most

20 years ago hurts sits with the recent line for a second

3am gang: see you all back here next year same feed same ungodly hour

verified gang pls: the verified gang the bots and us randoms one last time, iconic ensemble

first video fr??: ok real quick before we go, the trunks. really long right

20 years ago hurts: yeah hajun. and thats cool

first video fr?? types it back with a straight face and a grin

still not trending: happy 21st to the little zoo video that started everything

not a bot i swear: no u started everything, dont even argue

verified gang pls: ok going before i cry into the comments, best random reunion ever 💛

3am gang: night from my side of the planet, it was really really really nice

3am gang waves off into her own late hour

the 19 second clip ends on the elephants again and just loops, the room drifts off one by one, and fresh strangers keep dropping in who only just got it recommended, still going on about the really long trunks