‘Charlie bit me’ viral video fetches £500,000 for Buckinghamshire boys

ONE of the internet's one of the most viral videos featuring two toddler siblings - the “Charlie bit me” video, has brought riches for the boys and their family. The viral video, which has close to 900 million views, was sold as a non-fungible token ( NFT) for more than £500,000 this week.

First uploaded on Youtube in 2007, the clip has now made an estimated £1 million over the years for the family after its NFT version sold for about £538,000, a purchase value that has surpassed that of other recent NFT sales in the meme genre in a tense bidding battle. The video will remain on the site.

Buckinghamshire resident Howard Davies-Carr, the boys' father, said they had offered to take the video off YouTube as part of the auction, to make it a more desirable collector's item to those making bids. But the buyer is "quite happy" for them to leave the original clip up.

The video was shot and uploaded on Youtube by Howard who wanted to send a clip of his sons to their godparents living in the US. The video went on to become one of the first viral videos of the initial Youtube days and is still one of the internet's most viewed clips.

Harry and Charlie (now 17 and 15), who are featured in the video as toddlers, want to use the money to fund their college expenses as well as to cover the university fees of their two younger brothers.

"I can't even remember doing it so making money off it, and having experiences off it, is really cool," Charlie told BBC, adding that the video has been “an extra part of our life that's quite interesting.”

Meanwhile, Howard said he has always encouraged Harry and Charlie not to let the fame get to their heads, adding that “by the time they are adults, I want them to be more than just the video.”