Our favorite classic viral videos

Editor's note: Every week we turn to our office water cooler to tap its collective wisdom. This week, our colleagues share their favorite viral videos from before "viral video" was a thing.

I wasn't much of a YouTube user at the time but "David after the dentist" turned me into one. I probably watched it a million times and shared it with all my friends. I thought it was adorable and I found it extremely funny. 

I still use the phrase "Is this real life?" every time I get a chance.

• Tania Gonzales, audience development manager

The fact that I was a TV news producer when "Boom goes the dynamite" came out may have had something to do with it, but I watched this train wreck of a sportscast about 50 times. Every sentence Brian Collins tries to spit out becomes more awkward than the one before it. Having been a part of on-air disasters myself, the inner-struggle between feelings of pure joy and total empathy are palpable every time I watch.

• Andy Altman, associate editor
  

I'm going with "All your base are belong to us."

Take a badly translated video game opening and apply a techno beat -- the result? All your base are belong to us. When the video first came out, most people didn't know the origin but it still went viral. As a bonus, the imagery in the video gives us a window into 2009. Someone set us up the bomb!

• Wayne Cunningham, senior editor
  

While it's seems increasingly likely that it was staged, I still can't get through a sitting of Leeroy Jenkins without laughing out loud, or at least a chortle. The enthusiasm and excitement of Leeroy's infamous battle cry is simply amazing. Plus, for anyone who has ever played a collaborative online game, that sinking feeling of how quickly a great plan turns into nothingness is so palpable. So if its staged -- great job on the performance. And if it's not, well that's even better!

• Jeremy Toeman, VP products

I'm a sucker for animal videos and I don't know any soul who isn't... so why not honor the OG cute talking animal video -- "Don Piano" a.k.a. "Oh Long Johnson" -- ripped straight from an episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos" in YouTube's infancy (interesting shift in paradigm).  Who knew giving your cat a panic attack could result in a catchphrase and merchandise line!

• Bryan VanGelder, studio production manager and sound engineer

With a chorus like, "The world has gone insane, and you don't know what is right," "Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig)" is a reflection of our troubled times. Yet with the catchy beat and inspirational lyrics, this video always makes me smile. When your partner breaks up with you, when you don't get that dream job or when you just want to give up on life, do as the song commands; "You've got to keep on keeping on, get on that pig and hold on tight!" 

• Emme Hall, autos reviews editor

As someone born and raised in Oakland, California, when this video went viral, I couldn't get enough of it! Everyone in it is a unique character, but Bubb Rubb steals the show every time he's on screen. Everything he says is quotable. I also love Lil Sis' tone of voice when she says "Yeah, I got it on my car!" as though the interviewer was stupid to even ask. An instant classic!

• Jason Parker, senior editor

This is one of those videos that either you get or you don't. I'm referring Canadian Frankie MacDonald, who has established himself as YouTube's clarion of bad weather, initially in his native Nova Scotia but he's done numerous videos to warn citizens all over of impending rain, snow and ice, and remind them to "order your pizzas, order your Chinese food, charge your cellphones, charge your iPads..." In short, his motto, like the Boy Scouts, is "BE PREPARED!" 

• Jim Hoffman, copy editor

"13 Bears and Marijuana." In which a Russian news reader tries to get through a story about 13 tame bears guarding a marijuana plantation -- and utterly fails to maintain her composure when a raccoon and pot-bellied pig get involved. Sometimes there's nothing funnier than watching someone else's uncontrollable laughter -- particularly when they are not supposed to be laughing.

• Lisa Fredsti, associate producer

I'd forgotten all about it until the bonkers Netflix show "Sense8" used 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" and it all came rushing back. He-Man singing that 90s classic has that gold-dust combination of satire and weirdness and fun. I love that Prince Adam and Man-At-Arms are in an ambiguous workplace relationship. I love Skeletor going "Mahhh!" I love that something so silly has over 100 million views in its various versions. It's glorious.

•   Nick Hide, global copy chief

Full disclosure I am not sure if this was viral anywhere besides my college campus, but hands down my first and favorite viral video is "Injured, injured bad...." It's an insurance commercial, lame I know. I remember typing utube.com into a browser trying to find it (awkward). The kid is so darn cute. Watch it and wait for the end. It still makes me laugh. 

• Liza Maloy, product manager
  

I can't get enough of "Antoine Dodson and the Bed Intruder." I even downloaded the Bed Intruder Soundboard app, which lets you pick and choose which classic Antoine phrase you want to hear. Even after all these years sometimes I'll open it up while listening to podcasts so I can add the occasional "you are so dumb," or " you can run and tell that!" to whatever I'm listening to.  Also, don't forget the very catchy Schmoyoho auto-tuned song.

•   Richard Peterson, producer

The classic video of the Peanuts gang breaking it down to Outkast's "Hey Ya!" is older than my third-grade daughter, but it lifts my spirits every time I watch. Charlie Brown, yelling "One, two, three, uh!" through a megaphone. Lucy, shaking her psychiatrist-booth money jar like a Polaroid picture. Those weird twin girls with Linus hair and no apparent shoulders. What's cooler than bein' cool? This video.

• Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, contributing editor

It was exactly 11 years ago, on June 3, 2006, that professional juggler Fritz Grobe and attorney Stephen Voltz of EepyBird uploaded "The Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments" video and changed lives, science curriculums and the internet, forever. The video made it to YouTube a few days later and the stunning science experiment turned Bellagio Fountain has since been viewed more than 18 million times.

I remember well when the video first took off, fueled by a plug on Rocketboom, then a must-watch web newscast. We CNET editors were mesmerized by the video and almost wrote a story about it on that slow Friday afternoon. The next day, I happened to be sitting next to Voltz at a video-blogger conference (yes, that was a thing) and remember how blown away he was by the video's popularity. The team went on to do many more such DIY science-related videos, but this was the start of all and considered a viral video classic. It's still beautiful to watch.

-- Michelle Meyers, associate editor for CNET News