What were some of the most popular videos on YouTube in its early years?

In YouTube's early years, several videos gained significant popularity and contributed to the platform's rapid growth. Some of the most notable early YouTube videos include:

### **1. **"Me at the zoo" (2005):**
   - **Creator**: Jawed Karim, one of YouTube's co-founders.
   - **Description**: This is the very first video ever uploaded to YouTube. It features Karim at the San Diego Zoo talking briefly about elephants and their trunks.
   - **Significance**: As the first video on the platform, it holds a unique place in YouTube history and showcases the platform's early, simple format.

### **2. **"Charlie Bit My Finger" (2007):**
   - **Creator**: The Davies-Carr family.
   - **Description**: This video features a baby named Charlie biting his older brother's finger, leading to a humorous reaction from both. The video's cute and relatable content made it a viral hit.
   - **Significance**: It became one of the most-viewed videos of its time and is often cited as an example of the type of viral content that helped YouTube gain popularity.

### **3. **"Evolution of Dance" (2006):**
   - **Creator**: Judson Laipply.
   - **Description**: This video features Laipply performing a comedic dance routine that highlights popular dance styles from various decades.
   - **Significance**: It became one of the most-watched videos on YouTube during its early years and helped popularize the trend of viral, comedic performance videos.

### **4. **"Sneezing Baby Panda" (2006):**
   - **Creator**: The video features a baby panda sneezing and startling its mother.
   - **Description**: The short, humorous clip of a panda sneezing became a viral sensation.
   - **Significance**: It was widely shared and contributed to the popularity of cute animal videos on the platform.

### **5. **"Numa Numa Dance" (2006):**
   - **Creator**: Gary Brolsma.
   - **Description**: Brolsma's lip-sync performance to the song "Dragostea Din Tei" by O-Zone became famous for its energetic and humorous presentation.
   - **Significance**: The video was one of the early examples of user-generated content going viral and helped establish the trend of internet memes.

### **6. **"Badger Badger Badger" (2003):**
   - **Creator**: MrWeebl.
   - **Description**: An animated loop featuring badgers dancing to a repetitive song, with other elements added for humor.
   - **Significance**: Although uploaded before YouTube's launch, it gained popularity on the platform and became a quintessential example of early internet animation and meme culture.

### **7. **"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" (2005):**
   - **Creator**: Neil Cicierega.
   - **Description**: An animated musical featuring a humorous battle between various famous characters.
   - **Significance**: This video gained attention for its creative animation and catchy tune, contributing to the platform's growth in creative and humorous content.

### **8. **"Chris Crocker - Leave Britney Alone!" (2007):**
   - **Creator**: Chris Crocker.
   - **Description**: This video features Crocker's emotional defense of Britney Spears during a period of intense media scrutiny.
   - **Significance**: It became a viral sensation and is often cited as an early example of internet celebrity and meme culture.

These early viral videos helped establish YouTube as a platform for diverse and engaging content, demonstrating the power of user-generated videos to capture global attention and drive the platform's rapid growth.