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Listen Close, Here Is The Tale Of The Numa Numa Man

Listen Close, Here Is The Tale Of The Numa Numa Man

A story for the ages.

James Dawson

James Dawson

Come close and I will tell you a story about a long, long time ago; an era before the internet was really the internet. It is before Instagram and Facebook, before even YouTube and Myspace. It was a more innocent time before the relentless patter of statuses and tweets, and cry after cry for public validation.

Yes, it may seem strange now, with all these apps and your phones that you can use to browse the web and email. Do you still have emails these days? I forget, you see. At 25 my memory isn't what it was.

One day you will be old like your grandpa JD. Some day your eyes will fail you and you won't be able to boogie all night and all day and you'll feel like you need to nap. Ah, I could do with a nap right now, actually... but... but.... but anyway, where was I?

Oh, yes, that was it, wasn't it. I was telling you a story about a long time ago. Ah, yes, I remember now. You asked me about viral videos, didn't you, and where they came from?

Ahh yes, the Numa Numa man, I remember him well. Credit: YouTube

That was it, wasn't it? Numa Numa man, or at least I think that's what they called him. As I recall he was a web designer, I think Gary Brolsma was his name. He came from New Jersey and 12 years ago he created something that would change the world.

There were things back then called webcams, I think you might still have them. But back then they were funny little things, that you attached to the top of your computer - and the quality was all grainy. I remember buying my first webcam, actually. I wanted to use it to chirpse girls on this thing we had called MSN. It was a little like that Facebook messenger you have now.

Forgive me, I've gone off track again, haven't I? Ahh, yes, that was it, wasn't it. I was talking about the Numa Numa man. And what a man he was. Yes, you might not believe it but 12 years ago that man from New Jersey was the toast of the internet. A viral sensation, as you might say nowadays. Not that I really understand that newfangled lingo of yours, you tend to lose that when you get to my age.

Back in the day, these webcam thingy-magig's were all the rage. Credit: Twitter

But, yes, the Numa Numa man in the video was just 18 when the film was originally posted on some old fashioned site called Newground, as I recall. It would only later be put on YouTube. The video features the Numa Numa man miming along to the song 'Dragostea din tei' as performed by O-Zone and sung in Romanian.

There was something about that video, something about it people loved so much that they would share it with their friends. It went 'viral', as you youngsters might say. And from there he became famous around the world.

The video's hundreds of millions of views brought Brolsma to stardom. He was featured on television shows like Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, and placed him at Number One on VH1's list of the Top 40 Internet Superstars, just ahead of the Star Wars kid, Ghyslain Raza.

Who's the Star Wars kid? Oh, I'm very tired, I think that's a tale for another time. Let's just sit and watch the video together, and enjoy a more innocent time...

Ah, it takes me back, it does. Oh, it really does, oh, it, it.... it...zzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Featured image credit: YouTube

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