If you still don't know what the Harlem Shake is, you probably haven't been on the Internet for at least a couple of weeks (welcome back). The Shake is a video meme that's simple in its formula, but very easy to iterate on with your own personal twist.
You take a fairly normal scene, but with one person dancing for no apparent reason. Then, at about the fifteen second mark, the bass drops and absolute chaos ensues. The best versions of the Shake are short, funny, and full of personality, making it one of the more enjoyable viral crazes in recent memory. In just two weeks time, roughly 12,000 Harlem Shake videos have been uploaded to YouTube, together totaling more than 40 million views.
To save you the time of sorting through all of them, here are some of the best highlights.
If you're worried that Harlem Shake videos have run out of new ideas, simply watch this man and his banana and be reminded that the Internet is far too strange of a place to let that happen.
This one gets extra props for featuring real firefighters (in a real fire truck). I'm not entirely sure if those costumes were standard issue though.
Harlem Shake v151 proves that every meme could use more Pokemon.
The University of Georgia's men's swim and dive crew weren't too worried about minor inconveniences like breathing when they put this one together, and for that we're grateful.
What happens when you bring the Harlem Shake to A Charlie Brown Christmas? Absolute magic.
Having run out locations on Earth to do the Harlem Shake, this one takes it to its logical conclusion. I give you: Harlem Shake, Skydiving Edition.
Last but not least, if watching Harlem Shake videos one at a time isn't enough for you, why not fifty?
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