Hello everyone! Happy New Year and happy 2017! I hope you’re glad to see me back writing blogs. Ah! It’s been awhile and my hiatus from writing makes me feel like a newcomer again.
As everyone may have noticed, I had missed my chance of writing my Christmas and New Year blogs because I had been so busy of so many things and suffered from cough (well my cough is on its 1 month and 2 days already) which hindered me to write. But now that I’m a little okay, Katsanslimites is officially back on blogs! Hopefully.
Starting my first blog for the year 2017, I will be bringing you back to some of the viral stuffs that shook humanity last 2016. (It's never too late for a throwback! Chinese New Year is still coming up!) Last year’s events have been crazily fun and shocking, so I thought of making a list of which I think had captured the crowd’s attention and had been the talk on social media.
Weird stuff, cute stuff, music, technology, games, politics; whatever piques the curious mind of an individual would certainly spread like wildfire and will be the talk around the world. So without further ado, here’s a list of the viral things I came up with.
Ten Virals of 2016
#1 Mannequin Challenge
(image source: Nba.com)
The Cleveland Cavaliers with First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House doing the mannequin challenge.
Who would have thought that keeping steady on a video would be something so ever popular?
This is probably the simplest and easiest to do that had trended aside from planking. The rules for this trend is very simple. A person should just keep steady like what is called—a mannequin.
Your body and eyes shouldn’t move even the slightest bit too when the camera pans at you. If you have done this successfully, then hooray! You now belong to the trend! Although the trick to make your video go viral is to do wacky or extraordinary poses.
(video source: The Fumble via Youtube)
I know you guys have already seen lots of mannequin challenge videos so what I'm sharing to you here is something unusual—I mean, unusual cuteness. Hehe!
Did you know that the mannequin challenge originated from a group of students in Florida? They uploaded the video online and people all over the world saw it and thought it was cool. Since then, the mannequin challenge became an infectious trend especially for friends, family, celebrities, athletes and to anyone who just wanted to join the trend.
#2 The Dab Dance
(image source: Wikipedia.org)
The dab pose!
I first saw this on the memes of Spark, one of the three trainers in the game Pokemon GO. I initially thought it was a symbol or a trend if you want to go dorky because people would always associate it to Spark’s happy-go-lucky character.(Lol)
You can make the dab pose by extending one arm straight above your head around an angle of 45 degrees maybe, while the other arm is folded near your face pointing on the same direction with an angle just as the other. Then bow your head slightly near the corner of your folded arm just enough to hide your face.
There you go! Repeat it as many times as you want and dab dab dab!
#3 Manny Pacquiao
(image source: ftw.usatoday.com)
Manny Pacquiao after winning against Timothy Bradley last 2014.
Yes, the one and only Manny Pacquiao who never fails to trend all over the world and brings a zero crime rate and traffic-free roads in his home country, Philippines, during his boxing fights.
Last 2016, he returned to the boxing ring to challenge Jessie Vargas in the WBO Welterweight title after his phenomenal match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. last 2015. Even though older by 11 years to Jessie Vargas, he was able to defeat him, proving that age is just a number.
Manny Pacquiao may be globally known as a boxing superstar but in his homeland he is also a respected politician. Well, he just won as a senator on the 2016 Philippine elections. I think 2016 had been so good for Manny.
#4 Samsung Note 7
(image source: cnet.com)
Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
From a blockbuster to disaster.
The popular appliance and smartphone brand Samsung faced complaints from their customers after their 2016 newly released phone model Galaxy Note 7 had reports of battery malfunction. The malfunction isn’t something one can just ignore or consider as a minor issue as some, if not the majority, were exploding.
The company issued a recall on all of its customers who had bought the Note 7 upon learning the flaw of their product. With the case getting more alarming each day, some airlines even instructed their passengers who owns the Note 7 to turn off the device while on the plane. Charging it in the plane was also strictly prohibited. It certainly caused a fear to each smartphone user and most likely caused Samsung’s sales to roll down the slope, or much worse, had put the company's reputation at risk. But to be fair, Samsung isn’t only the one facing phone issues. There are others out there which are much worse.
Anyhow, Samsung had apologized and explained last January 22 of this year as to why Note 7's battery overheats and explodes. I believe that from this incident, Samsung have learned big time and would surely be extra careful on their future smartphones.
#5 Farewell 2NE1
(image source: foreverwithdara.com)
2ne1!
One of the K-Pop groups who rose to fame and introduced Korean Pop Music to the world, this four-member girl group(CL, Bom, Minzy and Dara) was a smash hit everywhere they go. Having sold out concerts and huge fanbases for several years, they are considered the epitome and pioneers of K-Pop.
With the group's popularity, it has been really a shock to everyone when Minzy disbanded from the group last April 2016 to pursue her solo career. Fans were saddened and feared it would lead to 2NE1's disbandment. Finally, last November 2016, their record label YG Entertainment officially announced that 2NE1 is disbanding.
Many fans protested and got mad with the announcement. Although last January 05, YG Entertainment posted another update stating that the group will be releasing their one last song on January 21 to properly say goodbye to their fans. The song is entitled, "Goodbye."
As a K-Pop fan before, this news really tore my heart. But let us not be completely sad because YG Entertainment is eyeing on bringing back the group(although still without Minzy), although this time with the name XXI.
Trivia: One of the members, Dara, started her career in the Philippines after winning a talent search contest. Even before 2NE1, she already had a huge fanbase in the Philippines. The sole reason why 2NE1 was instantly popular in the Philippines.
#6 Little Chinese Girl Eating
(image source: dailymail.co.uk)
Nutritious is delicious!
Well, 2016 isn't just about technology and music. This little cutie from China who loves to eat healthy foods melted the hearts of the internet universe.
If you are frequently scrolling on your Facebook timeline, you might have come across this cute little girl with short bangs wearing a penguin bib who seemingly eats endlessly.
Many Facebook users have been following the little girl’s videos where all she does is eat all the foods in those bowls until the very last piece. People had been so fond of watching this girl enjoying her meal. Although a lot of people were happy seeing the girl eat healthy foods, others were concerned about overfeeding and obesity.
Well, I’d say that I can see nothing wrong with the foods she eat or how many she eats. They’re mostly vegetables and for a girl so little like her, I could only admire her for liking vegetables at a young age.(I hate vegetables when I was little. Lol) And she would surely stop when she feels full. The only thing I could protest though is her irresistible cuteness when she eats. She makes eating vegetables a very likable food to eat!
#7 Little Girl Dresses as "No Face"
(image source: yangheboh.com)
Probably the best Halloween costume of 2016.
Last Halloween, another little girl caught the attention of the online community. Momo Lu is a two-year-old girl from Taiwan who went to her class Halloween party dressed as “No Face”, a character from the hit anime movie Spirited Away.
At her age where most girls would dream of dressing as a princess, Momo chose to wear something out of the norm for a young girl to wear. According to her mom, No Face was Momo’s favorite character and so she decided to be No Face for her Halloween party.
Well, she really did pulled off the character even legitly scaring her classmates and making some cry out of fear. No one of her classmates would even go near her.
People on the internet praised her odd choice of costume and her effectiveness of scaring her friends and classmates. I'm looking forward to her next costume this 2017!
#8 Pokémon GO
(image source: cnet.com)
The favorite mobile game of 2016.
Who wouldn’t know of this game? I bet majority of the world’s population went gaga over this game app last 2016. Since the release of this game, the world was then divided into three: Valor, Mystic and Instinct. (Just kidding!)
Almost everyone with a smartphone probably had installed this game and walked around to try their luck to catch some Pokémon. This virtual game aims to capture and collect different kinds of virtual monsters called Pokémon in various places which means literally walking in real life with your phone. The game was a hot stuff at every corners of the world that even malls here in the Philippines had set up lure parties. And since the game became popular, Pokémon related stuffs sprouted everywhere too.
Who would’ve thought that people would find joy in capturing virtual monsters in your phone? But before that, did you know that Pokémon is originally an anime and was already a popular game even before the mobile game Pokémon GO?
Despite some news of mishaps and accudents due to playing this game, many had agreed that they were able to make new friends through playing Pokémon GO. (Yes, raise your hands team Instinct! Lol!) It definitely built camaraderie and improved socialization. Plus, it helped those couch potatoes exercise their feet!
Trivia: Did you know that the team Instinct fans made the dab pose as Spark’s and also the team’s signature pose? Most Instinct members would do the dab pose in the photos which easily gives a hint of which team they belong to.
#9 Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen
(image source: spoon-tamago.com)
PPAP! Ugh!
You’re wrong if you think I am not adding this to my list!
From South Korea, let’s jump to its neighboring country, Japan! Dubbed as the next PSY who sang the smash hit Gangnam Style, Piko Taro bombarded the online world with his out of this world song called Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen or PPAP for short.
Now I believe the world is indeed unpredictable. Who could have imagine a song about an apple, pineapple and a pen would end up so viral? Not to mention the song only has less than 10 words and only repeated all throughout the song. Well, the song got a nice tune and interesting choreography.(Haha!) Plus, its iconic yellow costume with leopard print makes it more fun to watch.
(video source:
公式ピコ太郎歌唱ビデオチャンネル -PIKOTARO OFFICIAL CHANNEL- via Youtube)
The Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen song.
Piko Taro is a character created by Japanese comedian, host and singer, Kosaka Daimaou. His real name is Kosaka Kazuhito. Through his Piko Taro character, Kosaka was recognized all over the world. He has also been invited to guest on different events and shows around the world.
In fact, Piko Taro is having his dream concert this coming March 6 at the Nippon Budokan. In Japan, an artist would only be considered successful if he/she had already performed at Buduokan.
And that’s not all! His guests for his upcoming concert are Silent Siren and the Anisong(anime song) star LiSA. (Piko Taro and LiSA also work together on a show in AbemaTV entitled “Kosaka Daimaou x LiSA no Katsuage”)
Moving on, he explained on interviews that the tune of the song has already been long made and the only missing was the lyrics. You could watch this video if you would like to know more about it. With that, PPAP was born. The song was even acknowledged by no less than, Justin Bieber himself and so many other celebrities. Countless parodies of the song was also made.
If you don’t know, PPAP has a long version. He has two other songs entitled, Neo Sunglasses and his latest song I Like OJ. Truly, 2016 is Piko Taro’s year.
#10 Rodrigo Duterte
(image source: rns.bg)
The 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines.
“Change is coming.”
-President Rodrigo Duterte
The Davao City Mayor who won a landslide victory on the Philippine Presidential elections last May 2016 was first perceived as the underdog among the presidential candidates. At the beginning, he was skeptical of filing his candidacy but decided to pursue it at the last minute due to a lot of people convincing him to join. His consistent and persistent plans of eradicating illegal drugs, criminals and corruption within three to six months made him stood out, outshining the rest of the candidates. His humble way of life compared to the lavish life of his co-candidates was also praised. With all the attention he got, some even tried to destroy his reputation but his supporters remained unshaken and more people favored on Duterte instead.
After winning as the new President of the Republic of the Philippines, his popularity spread out worldwide although with a combination of good and bad remarks. Most people admired his patriotism and eagerness to rebuild his country for the better while others say the president is being too harsh resulting to several complaints about extrajudicial killing. Aside from that, his bizarre statements about some officials in other countries made him the talk on all media platforms; on television, radio, internet, magazines and newspapers. Moreover, keeping the allegiance loose with United States of America while building relationships with China and Russia received more raised eyebrows from everyone.
The Philippine President is also known for his habit of cursing even during his formal speeches. Well, I guess right now, he is trying to control his words to the best he can. However, despite those people who hates him, there are more people who support him. In fact, the President was happily welcomed during his visits in other countries. He was also warmly welcomed by his fellow world leaders during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) and Association of the Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) Summit. Rodrigo Duterte is certainly a president loved by many and full of surprises.
You're Next!
That’s it for my list. I know there are other more viral happenings and stuffs that should be on the list but I am only choosing ten.(Hehe!)
Anyway, with our diverse world and unpredictable future, who knows you just might be the next to make it to the popular list. Just make sure it is caused by something good.
I hope you like or agree to those I’ve put on the list! Do you know other things that went viral last 2016? I’d like to hear from you!
Thanks for reading!
✧ Katsanslimites
