Youtube Goats Yelling Like Humans: Why'd It Go Viral?

"What can I do for you?" was the response by the man about halfway through the video after listening and chuckling to what I consider to be the most absurd, irrelevant sound: a goat’s cry which sounds vaguely similar to that of a human calling for someone in a different area of a large home to pick up the phone. My response to the following YouTube video was, "what is it that this video does for you?", 'you' being the general masses of consumers of YouTube videos.

Before I get into my obviously professional and sophisticated critique of the given video, here is what other viewers of the video thought of it:

"I immediately switch to porn when my mum come in because it is easier to explain…" — YouTube User LingPTO

"You [person who put up the video] are a bloody idiot." — YouTube User RidleyE

"They deserve a TV show." — YouTube User PPTRUENOVERDADERO

Similarly, I sent the video to a few friends and they reacted in the following ways:

"Oh my god I opened this link in the quiet room of the library and there is uncontrollable laughter all around." — Christina, sophomore, 19

"This is so irritating." —Dan, freshman, 18 (good boy)

"Katie, you would be writing an article about this video." — Teddy, junior, 20 (obviously referencing my playful, sometimes bizarre interests)

"For some reason, it’s absolutely hilarious when animals sound like humans." — Nikki, sophomore, 19

So what does this video mean in the larger context of what the contemporary world considers entertainment? It means that we are indeed in a spiral downward with regard to the things that are available to us on the Internet, as well as the mildly concerning items popular culture exposes us to. Could you think of a more insignificantly ridiculous thing to make a video out of, let alone a possible TV show? Real Housewives wouldn't even trump a season of "Goats Screaming Like Humans" on an irrelevant spectrum. I find most weird things funny, but this is simply absurd. Small children might even be frightened by something like this.

So to answer the question of the hour: I truthfully could not tell you why something like this went viral. Perhaps people are getting sick of Harlem Shake renditions or realized that other videos that take a negative amount of effort to pay attention to are a nice break from their otherwise stressful lives. Admittedly, in the first 10 seconds my roommate and I had a laugh or two when we watched it during a short break from midterm studying ... but a full two minutes of this horrendous yelping?

It made us more stressed when we realized we’re wasting valuable studying with this nonsensical video, and even we couldn't take it.