Goats

About

Goats are a domesticated subspecies of the wild goat (Capra aegagrus) of which there are over 300 distinct breeds.

Online History

On January 25th, 2006, YouTuber jimmywan87 uploaded a video titled "Fainting Goats," featuring footage of myotonic goats who suffer from a disorder causing their muscles to tense and freeze for several seconds in response to the feeling of panic (shown below, left). In the first eight years, the video gained over 20 million views and 7,200 comments. On October 2nd, 2006, YouTuber Curt Briscar uploaded a video in which a goat repeatedly licks an electric fence, receiving more than 7.6 million views and 12,300 comments in the following eight years (shown below, right).

On December 6th, 2010, YouTuber Giggle with the Goats uploaded a video featuring baby goats prancing and playing in an enclosure, gathering upwards of 8.7 million views and 1,300 comments in the next four years (shown below, left). On July 27th, 2012, YouTuber Kathryn Harnish uploaded a video in which a baby goat named Buttermilk repeatedly knocks over other baby goats (shown below, right). In two years, the video gained over 12.5 million views and 11,300 comments.

On September 19th, 2012, comedian Nathan Fielder staged a video titled "Pig rescues baby goat," in which a domesticated pig is shown pushing a drowning baby goat out of the water (shown below, left). Fielder later revealed the video to be a hoax on his comedy show Nathan For You (shown below, right).

On June 20th, 2014, Jezebel^[8] published an article about the growing representation of goats in online media. On June 26th, Nerve^[3] published an article titled "The Unlikely Rise of the Internet Goat," featuring a history of goat-related media online.

Fandom

Goat-related posts can be found on Twitter under the hashtag #goats, often accompanied by links to pictures and video of the domesticated animals. Several Tumblr blogs dedicated to goats have been launched, including Baby Goats and Friends,^[4] Goats on Things,^[5] Daily Goat^[6] and Fuck Yeah Goats.^[7] As of July 2014, the Facebook^[2] topic page for goats has accumulated more than 102,000 likes.

Related Memes

Yelling Goat

Yelling Goat is a video recording of a Peruvian goat repeatedly making a loud bleating noise that is reminiscent of a human yelling. Since going viral in August 2008, the video has been the subject of remixes and parodies, most notably music video mash-ups that combine the audio tracks of popular songs and yelling goats.

Goat Tower

The Goat Tower is a famous landmark located in Paarl, South Africa on the Fairview Wine and Cheese Farm which is highly regarded on 4chan as a sign of utopia due to the rarity of the towers and the imagined secrets held within.

Spitting Goat

Spitting Goat is a viral video in which a man attempts to speak to a goat in Spanish causing the goat to react aggressively and spit in response (shown below).

I Knew You Were Trouble

"I Knew You Were Trouble" is a 2012 hit pop single by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fourth studio album Red. In February 2013, the chorus part of the song became a popular subject of audio-spliced mash ups after a remix featuring a bleating goat was uploaded to YouTube in February 2013.

Frostie the Goat

Frostie the Snow Goat was a baby goat who rose to internet fame after photographs and video of him walking with the aide of a wheelchair were posted online in May 2014. He passed away a month later at the Australian Edgar Mission Farm Sanctuary.

Gary the Goat

Gary the Goat is the nickname given to a goat owned by Australian comedian James Dezarnaulds (a.k.a. Jimbo Bazoobi), who became internet famous for traveling and performing stand-up comedy tours with the farm animal across Australia.

Goat Simulator

Goat Simulator is a third person perspective video game in which the player roams an open world assuming the role of a goat.

Let It Goat

Let it Goat is a mobile game in which the player must navigate a goat character through a side-scrolling platform and jump over a series of obstacles by touching the screen at the right time. Its name is a wordplay made in reference to the Frozen song “Let it Go.”

Search Interest

External References