Viral videos of the week: Emma Watson, childish argument and epic miss

28 Sep 2014

Still featuring Sherlock the beagle from KLM Lost and Found

This week in viral videos, actress Emma Watson gives an emotional speech at the UN HeForShe conference, children engage in the most childish argument, and a footballer misses an open goal.

About 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, Facebook videos see over 1bn views per day, and more than 700 YouTube videos shared on Twitter each minute, ensuring there is always video trending on the web.

With so much video available for viewing, we take a look at some of the viral videos that have caught our eye this week.

Emma Watson HeForShe Speech at the United Nations

This year, the UN launched the largest international conference dedicated to the promotion of gender equality across the world and while it has rightfully garnered attention from across the world, one particular speech by Hollywood actor Emma Watson has taken YouTube by storm.

In an emotional speech, Watson calls on men to join the fight against inequality and shed the idea that the word feminism has a negative connotation in today’s age.

Hear, hear, Emma.

Uploaded: 22 September 2014

‘I quit’

While we’re on the topic of standing up for what you believe in, reporter for the Alaskan news station KTVA, Charlo Greene, had a major conflict of interest with her job and her other passion: legalising cannabis.

Unaware to her employers, or the majority of those watching at home, Greene is also the head of the organisation she was reporting on, the Alaska Cannabis Club, and decided to use the opportunity to quit live on air rather dramatically.

Speaking after the event to Alaska Dispatch News, she said she wanted to highlight the issue and felt this was the best way to get as much attention as possible.

Uploaded: 22 September 2014

KLM Lost and Found

Companies are a little too self-aware of the selling power of adding an adorable animal to a YouTube video, building a fake premise around it, and hoping it goes viral.

In the latest instance, KLM have created the fictional lost and found service featuring a charming beagle who is hired to bring items left by passengers on the plane to their owners leaving the airport.

Cue slow-mo shots of it running around, jumping on people and just being cute about the whole thing.

Safe to say it works, but it still brings a smile to see it.

Uploaded: 23 September 2014

You poked my heart…childish argument of the day

Oh god, the cuteness! This video shows a bunch of kids arguing about the accuracy of current meteorological forecasts and whether the precipitation is heavy or light.

As the boy in this video tries to argue that it’s “spwrinkering”, the counter-point is that it’s actually “waining”.

Sadly, things get physical and the poor boy’s heart is not just broken, but poked.

Uploaded: 24 September 2014

Epic goal miss from 2m

If there’s one thing that can unite everyone in watching a moment from football, whether they hate the sport or not, it’s when a player has an absolute howler in front of goal.

Step forward, Kaiserslautern’s Philipp Hofmann in the German Bundesliga 2 who had the enviable – or not so enviable after this performance – task of simply connecting with a ball right in front of an empty goal.

No doubt to the relief of Hofmann, his miss wasn’t as crucial as it could have been, just, as they went on to beat Union Berlin 1-0.

Uploaded: 24 September 2014

Tattooing close up, in slow motion

Well this video is certainly not for those who have a fear of needles as Destin, the man behind the Smarter Everyday YouTube channel went to find what it looks like to see a tattoo being applied up-close in slow motion.

For engineering geeks out there, the video shows exactly how an electric tattoo needle works and is pretty fascinating, it has to be said.

There’s also something rather hypnotic about seeing it pierce the skin multiple times a second…no, really.

Uploaded: 24 September 2014

Botched proposal

Those looking to get engaged soon should take note, do not propose next to an open body of water.

In an age of social media and one-upmanship, a simple proposal isn’t good enough seemingly for some people and feel that an incredibly public event or location is ideal to pop the question to their significant other.

The poster of this video was the unlucky proposer, Swilk16, who ended up having more interest in the ring that her potential bride to be’s answer which is rather interesting.

Uploaded: 18 September 2014

Brazilian giant yellow anaconda found

In 1997 the film Anaconda was released to an international audience and caught the imagination of a public who found the idea of a giant water-bound snake absolutely terrifying as Jennifer Lopez and co tried to escape its clutches.

In 2014, a bunch of Brazilians on a boat find an enormous yellow anaconda and try to chase it down and hit it with oars.

Probably wrongly credited as the ‘biggest anaconda ever found’ by ViralVidsTV, the size of this anaconda is still up there with the biggest found so far which at its biggest can measure as long as 7m and weigh 150kg.

The size of the snake’s stomach would also indicate that it feasted before it was found by the not-so Hollywood crew.

Either way, the nonchalant way they’re handling it is pretty terrifying to say the least.

Uploaded: 19 September 2014

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Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com