Curated trail

Flash-era songs that spread widely

Before playlists and social feeds, short animations and repeatable choruses spread widely online.

1998 · Web post

Hampster Dance

A page of bouncing hamsters set to a sped-up earworm became a widely shared early-web hit.

2003 · Video

Badger badger badger badger. Mushroom. Mushroom.

2002 · Video

A dancing banana and a four-word refrain became an enduring online catchphrase.

2004 · Video

A llama, a duck, a potato, and one extremely committed nonsense song made Flash feel like its own tiny musical genre.

2004 · Video

A tiny wizard, a disappearing cow, and one relentlessly cheerful loop made nonsense feel like a complete genre.

2009 · Video

Narwhals, narwhals, swimming in the ocean: one tiny animated song made sea mammals permanently quotable.