Viral videos of the week

We take a look at some of the most-viewed and most-shared videos on the web. This week features a real-life video-games character, how to troll chatroulette – gangnam style, stuff an Apple fanatic might say, a speedy robot, and we get to watch someone age 12 years in less than eight minutes.

More than 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, 500 years of video watched on Facebook every day, and more than 700 YouTube videos shared on Twitter each minute, ensuring there is always video trending on the web.

With so much video available for viewing, we take a look at some of the viral videos that have caught our eye this week.

Assassin’s Creed Meets Parkour in Real Life

One of the key draws with video games is the detachment from reality it offers. We enjoy the games safe in the knowledge that no human could possibly replicate the feats of our gaming heroes. That is until we meet ‘Parkour‘ enthusiast Ronnie Shalvis, who takes to the streets dressed as Assassin’s Creed hero Altaïr. Assassin’s Creed is famed for its free-roaming gameplay and with Shalvis’ Parkour skills, the video has found favour with fans across the web, amassing more than 2m views in less than four days.

Uploaded: 3 September, 2012 

Gangnam Style on Chatroulette 

If you haven’t heard this song yet I can only apologise in advance for what I am about to subject you to. Gangnam Style hit YouTube in mid-July and became a viral sensation with nearly 120m views so far. The parody videos have come thick and fast, but it is YouTube users Stef and Stefani who have caught our eye this week with their Chatroulette homage to the original video, which collected 3m views before being removed and re-uploaded on Thursday.

Uploaded: 6 September, 2012 

Shit Apple Fanatics Say, Part 1

We all know one, or a few. The ‘shit people say’ videos have grown in popularity this year and while some can be hit or miss, the latest to go viral on YouTube is scarily accurate for Apple fanboys. Would uploading this video in Flash Player be too cruel?

Uploaded: 4 September, 2012 

DARPA’s Cheetah Bolts Past the Competition

This four-legged robot by the name of Cheetah broke its own land speed record this week, clocking a speed of 44.7 km/h during testing. In the process, the robot nearly broke the 20-metre split speed Olympian Usain Bolt set in 2009 of 44.7 km/h. Impressive.

Uploaded: 5 September, 2012 

Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 12.5 years

Now this takes dedication! Do you know someone who poses the same way in every photo? (Like this girl.) Well, New Yorker Noah Kalina takes this to a whole new level. Embarking on a project starting 11 January 2000, Kalina took a photograph of himself in the same pose every day. Twelve and a half years and 4,514 photographs later, he has compiled them all into a video for us to see his transformation in less than eight minutes.

Uploaded: 4 September, 2012