B.F.I. Preserves ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ and More Videos in Archive of Viral Moments

Technology|Charlie Bites, Badgers Dance and a Lettuce Endures in This Archive of Web Memes

Archivists at the British Film Institute have preserved hundreds of online videos for their cultural significance, hoping to preserve a slice of digital life for future generations.

The catalog of around 430 clips offers a glimpse into three decades of shared online culture that may otherwise one day be lost, the archivists said. All the clips come from Britain, though many traveled far around the world.

“The videos have this almost scary ability to document so much of modern life. If you imagine losing that, you would lose access to what life was like at this time and how people were expressing themselves,” said Will Swinburne, a curator at the British Film Institute who helped acquire some of the videos. That makes them worth preserving, he said.

The clips range in duration from an 11-second viral meme to a weeklong livestream, and are accessible at the B.F.I.’s viewing space in London as well as online for internet users in Britain.

Here’s a selection, in no particular order.

Charlie Bites His Brother (2007)

When Howard Davies-Carr uploaded a video of his toddler putting a finger in his infant brother’s mouth, the tale of innocence, curiosity and consequences struck a viral nerve.