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Library/Meme & format/Nyan Cat
Grade B13 sourcesHIS-01013

Nyan Cat

Meme & format · 2011 · Notable

45Editable slideCertificate

An animated cat-and-song mashup reached 70 million YouTube views in its first year.

Nyan Cat
BBC News
Pop Tart / Nyan Cat!
Chris Torres
Nyan Cat
Wikipedia (non-free, fair use)
TOP VIRAL VIDEOS OF APRIL: What's A "Nyan Cat"?
Business Insider
Apps rush: Thomas & Friends, Squirrel Nutkin, Nyan Cat and more
The Guardian
Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat Come Out Ahead in Lawsuit Against Warner Bros.
New York Magazine
Remastered Nyan Cat Gif Sold for the Equivalent of $587,000 in a Crypto Art Auction
Gizmodo

Spread Score

How it works
Reach71ContagionNo data yetBreadth30Velocity15LongevityNo data yet45

Numbers

Original video first-year views reported by YouTube
70M
As of Apr 5, 2012 · YouTube · YouTube Trends
Peak date
Week of Jun 25, 2011
Apr 2 ’11 to Week of Jun 25, 2011
Platforms
5
Started on Open web
Origin
Seeded
Culture (no sector)

Mechanics

  • Platform jump
  • Response chainPrimary
  • Press loop

How it spread

Trace the origin

Torres's April 2011 GIF became a YouTube mashup when saraj00n added a song cover. Coverage, remixes and extended loops followed. YouTube reported sustained viewing across the first year; games and licensing disputes extended its afterlife.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Oct ’10May ’11JulMar ’12NovSep ’13Oct ’15Jan ’18Nov ’19Apr ’21Nov ’22Feb ’24Open webYouTubePressApp storesTV
Open webYouTubePressApp storesTV

11 more events on this chart

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Timeline (14)

  1. April 2011

    Chris Torres / prguitarman seed · Apr 2 ’11

    Torres published the Pop Tart / Nyan Cat GIF on LOL-Comics.[1]

    Pop Tart / Nyan Cat!
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Sara June / saraj00n platform jump · Apr 5 ’11

    saraj00n combined Torres's GIF with a Japanese song cover and uploaded Nyan Cat.[2][3][11]

  3. Brian Balthazar / Chris Torres press · Apr 19 ’11

    Torres described early G4 and CollegeHumor exposure in an interview.[3]

Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Added 1 number
  2. 2026-10-15Added: 13 events, 11 sources · Score 60
Origin
Seeded
Sector
Culture (no sector)
Region
US
Original video first-year views reported by YouTube
70M
As of Apr 5, 2012 · YouTube · YouTube Trends
Evidence
Grade B

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62
RickRoll'D

64M views

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Oct ’10May ’11JulMar ’12NovSep ’13Oct ’15Jan ’18Nov ’19Apr ’21Nov ’22Feb ’24Open webYouTubePressApp storesTV
Open webYouTubePressApp storesTV

11 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. April 2011

    Chris Torres / prguitarman seed · Apr 2 ’11

    Torres published the Pop Tart / Nyan Cat GIF on LOL-Comics.[1]

    Pop Tart / Nyan Cat!
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Sara June / saraj00n platform jump · Apr 5 ’11

    saraj00n combined Torres's GIF with a Japanese song cover and uploaded Nyan Cat.[2][3][11]

  3. Brian Balthazar / Chris Torres press · Apr 19 ’11

    Torres described early G4 and CollegeHumor exposure in an interview.[3]

  1. press · May 3 ’11

  2. commercial · May 13 ’11

Join free to see the other 11 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

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