Double Rainbow (viral video)
Double Rainbow refers to a viral video posted by former MMA fighter[1] Paul "Bear" Vasquez. The clip, filmed in his front yard just outside Yosemite National Park, in the U.S. state of California, chronicles his sighting of and Stendhal syndrome-like reaction to a double rainbow. As of April 12, 2013, the video has more than 36,822,562 views on YouTube.[2]
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History [edit]
Paul Vasquez posted the video to YouTube himself (as user Hungrybear9562) on January 8, 2010. On July 3, comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel linked to the video in a post on Twitter,[3] saying that he and a friend had declared it the "funniest video in the world." The video quickly gained over one million views.[4]
A July 16 feature on the video by CNN.com stated that the video had gained 4.8 million views.[5] The video gained Vasquez a feature on the comedy show Tosh.0.
As of March 2013, the video has over 36 million views on youtube.
In popular culture [edit]
On July 5, 2010, the Gregory Brothers auto-tuned the video under the name "Double Rainbow Song". Their video has since gotten over 30 million views and has become a viral video in itself, almost surpassing the original in number of views.[6] The song has been covered by the likes of Amanda Palmer, Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) and also the Axis of Awesome during a live recording of a charity show in the UK.[7]
On July 26, 2010, Cartoon Network in the United States broadcast a 30-second clip that parodies the video itself, placing two Rainicorns (the fictional rainbow-unicorn hybrid in the series) instead of real rainbows while Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio) is making comment, during the end credits of Adventure Time.
Bill Amend's comic strip FoxTrot also features a parody of the original video, with Jason Fox being handed two Rainbow Trout by his father, Roger.[8]
In the Disney sitcom Jessie, the episode Gotcha Day has a brief moment where Ravi and Jessie want to Zuri-fy the place, and Ravi points out to paint a "double rainbow, all the way!" in a sarcastic tone.
On November 29, 2010, virtual pet site Neopets released an event in their "Game Master Challenge" series, titled "More Amazing Than a Double Rainbow Across the Sky!".[9][10] Users who completed this specific challenge (available for one day only), were rewarded with an item entitled, "Double Rainbow Background", with an item description of "But what does it mean?".[11][12] Issue 472 (published December 2010) of the Neopian Times included a question in their editorial section relating to the meme-based item.[13]
At the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, Zachary Levi, winner of Actor Action, referenced the double rainbow, when he joked "Thank you very much, it's like a double rainbow of epicness".
The website CollegeHumor made a spoof of the video, showing "Double Rainbow Guy" in everyday life marveling at things such as a double-parked car, a double cheeseburger, and double dipping chips.[14]
The character Lux from the video game League of Legends, sometimes says in game: "Double rainbow? What does it mean?"
In an episode of Tosh.0, Paul Vasquez appears on the show with Tosh in a Web Redemption, where they parody the video with a quadruple rainbow.
In the game Pocket God, an episode was added which was centered around the many sayings in the video, as well as added a function where you could draw a double rainbow in the sky.
The video is also referenced in the Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked movie, released in late 2011.
Likewise, the video is referenced in the sixth episode of Revenge; a character calls Paul Vasquez "a genius."[citation needed]
The online adoptable game Valenth released a rainbow-themed pet called the Double Leupak as a reference to the viral video.
The app Dragonvale has an achievement called Double Rainbow All the Way.
In 2012, a web-based commercial inspired by the video promoted New Balance 890 Rainbow running shoes.[15]
It is also an achievement on the MMORPG World of Warcraft.[16]
There is an achievement on the video game Borderlands 2 based on the double rainbow, called "What does it mean?"
In The Office Season Finale (May 16, 2013), Andy Bernard mentioned him because his video where he was crying in front of the Whole America's Next Acapella Sensation Crew went viral and he said he was contacted by a support group Starring the Double Rainbow guy among others [17]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Paul-Vasquez-14391
- ^ "Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10". YouTube. 2010-01-08. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
- ^ "Twitter / Jimmy Kimmel: my friend Todd has declare". Twitter.com. 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ^ "Double Rainbow Meme Takes Web by Storm". Mashable. July 8, 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ Brown, Damon. "How the 'double rainbow' video blew up". CNN.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26. Text "2010-07-16" ignored (help)
- ^ "Internet Meme Hall of Fame: Double Rainbows". Nerve.com. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ "The Five BestÇFunniest Double Rainbow Covers". Cover Me. 2010-08-02. Retrieved "2010-12-02.
- ^ "08/15/2010". FoxTrot.com. 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ^ "Games Master Challenge 2010". Neopets.com. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ^ "The Games Master Challenge - November 2010". Jellyneo.net. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ^ "Jellyneo's Neopets Item Database". Items.jellyneo.net. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ^ http://www.neopets.com/island/tradingpost.phtml?type=browse&criteria=item_exact&search_string=Double+Rainbow+Background
- ^ "The Neopian Times - Neopia's fill-in-the-blank news source". Neopets.com. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ^ "Double Rainbow Guy in Everyday Life". Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "New Balance 890 Rainbow". RunningShoes.com. 2012-01-27.
- ^ http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5262/double-rainbow
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ded7OkarBO4
