With over 72 hours of footage uploaded every minute, it’s physically impossible to keep track of the content on YouTube. But in YouTube Guide, the Daily Dot will curate its five favorite finds for each workday.

1) Freddie Wong, “Legend of Zelda: Pot Smasher”

If you think about it, Link is kind of an ass going around and smashing every pot in sight without any thought of the nearby guard. Freddie Wong recruits Lindsey Stirling to reprise her role as the mischievous Hylian who just can’t resist a reset room of things to smash.

2) David Macdonald, “Airport Pianist plays Viral Internet Songs”

An airport pianist takes a break from playing standard Christmas carols to passersby and starts playing a number of viral Internet hits, including the Nyan Cat song, Gangnam Style, Chocolate Rain and the Rickroll (among others) before returning to more Christmas music.

3) Kurt Hugo Schneider, “Holiday Medley! - Victoria Justice & Max Schneider”

Kurt Schneider teamed up with Max Schneider and Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice for their latest medley of the most notable holiday hits in which they played back on cell phones without the aid of video effects.

4) BoredShortsTV, “Kid Snippets: Gift Wrapping”

With Christmas around the corner, the kids are asked to explain how to wrap a gift to a friend, and while one knows what he’s doing, the other seems unsure of himself as he ends up with a handful of glue.

5) Tommy Wooldridge, “Blind Date Mix-Up”

Tommy Wooldridge has never been on a date, so what better way to get started than putting yourself out there? However, the girls have no idea they’re actually on a date, so naturally awkwardness ensues.

Photo via Freddie Wong/YouTube

Every evening, the Daily Dot delivers a selection of links worth clicking from around the Web, along with the day's must-see image or video. We call it Dotted Lines.

• How to get Siri to give you turn-by-turn Google Maps directions on an iPhone.
• Do we really need an online social network to meet our real-life neighbors?
• Facebook is reportedly working on a Snapchat-like “private” photo-sharing app.
• Tumblr’s Storyboard meets Tard, the Internet’s grumpiest cat.
• Walmart pulls Bushmaster AR-15 from online store after Connecticut school shooting.
• Pinterest prepares for the coming apocalypse.

Above: More bets you’ll always win at a party, from Prof. Richard “Quirkology” Wiseman.

The end-of-the-year mashup is about as close as we’ll get to a time capsule of the year’s biggest hits without actually putting the music in a container, and it’s become a standard way of summing up the past 12 months.

DJ Earworm essentially created the year-end mashup craze with his “United State of Pop” series in 2007. Each year, Earworm takes the 25 biggest songs—based in part on Billboard statistics —and transforms the eclectic mix (as well as the accompanying music videos) into a coherent image that tells its own story.

But if you ask Earworm (real name Jordan Roseman), he’s not just creating a mashup.

“I’m trying to make pop songs, not mixes,” Earworm told the Daily Dot. “It’s a different angle than a lot of people take, and when you’re trying to get all these songs in, it’s really easy to just make a mix instead of a pop song.”

The San Francisco-based DJ has been slicing and dicing since 2003, posting his original mixes online after receiving encouragement from a friend. A number of blogs noticed his work, and the attention led to a gig at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2005.But it wasn’t until a fan-made video began getting views a few weeks after the original “United State of Pop” release that he considered putting his work to video himself.

“I was frustrated because the videos became the de facto YouTube video for it, which I had no creative input or quality control or anything,” Earworm said.

Realizing that video was an important way to deliver music, he started to edit clips of the music videos to sync up with his mashups. It paid off in 2008, when the video for his mashup “Viva La Pop” scored more than 1.5 million views in its first year.

But “Blame It on the Pop,” the 2009 iteration, blew away all of his previous expectations.

The video had over 1.5 million views in one day, and it remains Earworm’s most popular mashup (and his favorite).

“In the first 12 hours, you know whether you have a hit or not,” Earworm observed. “You don’t have to sit around and wait.”

The exposure has led to other opportunities throughout the years. He’s worked with many of the artists he features in his mashups, does a lot of DJ gigs, and earlier this year, he was approached to make mixes for the London Olympics to play as background music before events.

“It’s one of those situations where everyone is in a good mood, they’re expecting to have a good time, and as long as there aren’t any glaring errors it was going according to plan,” he said.

Earworm starts planning his state-of-the-union mashups as early as September and October to start developing the themes, finding commonalities in the songs create a larger message. Once he finally settles down, it takes a solid month to make everything “absolutely perfect” for the release, which has become a highly anticipated online event.

However, Earworm isn’t alone in producing year-end mashups. Most notably, Daniel Kim released “Pop Danthology 2012” on Dec. 2, featuring 55 of the biggest pop hits from the past year.

“[Mashing up] 25 songs is hard enough; I can’t try to imagine going above that,” Earworm said of Kim’s mashup.

Not wanting to get lost in the noise of other year-end mixes, Earworm sought to release “United State of Pop” earlier than he had in in previous years. This year’s mashup, titled “Shine Brighter,” debuted on VIrgin Radio Canada on Dec. 15.

Earworm has yet to release the official video for “Shine Brighter” as of press time, but a copy of the song made its way to YouTube the following day.

It’s the shortest “United State of Pop” yet, at under four minutes, and features clips from Carly Rae Jepsen, Fun., Gotye, Maroon 5 and One Direction, and a little artist who just happens to have the most-watched YouTube video of all time.

“Of course, you can’t have a wrap-up without Psy and ‘Gangnam Style,’ but only a little bit,” he said. “But at the same time, you have to include it. It’d be a glaring omission.”

Photo by DJ Earworm

When the Johnson litter, a group of nine kitten siblings from Madison, WI, decided to move out and find a new place, they found slim pickings in their price range.  

“They ultimately moved into a studio apartment,” said real estate agent Tammy Baymore, a source close to the situation.  Baymore explained that because the kittens don’t have jobs, their price range was a very limiting factor in choosing an apartment.

But now that they’ve been living together for a month in close quarters, the nonuplets are beginning to think they need a bigger place.  

“One or two of them are going to have to get jobs if they want more space,” said Baymore. “There just isn’t anything bigger that they can afford right now.”

Via nordicute.

It's now Dec. 18, 2012. If you're anything like us, you've watched the music video for Psy's "Gangnam Style" over 50,000 times.

Not that we're exactly happy about it. That's just the way the coverage cookie crumbles. When a YouTube video's bordering on becoming the first clip to ever eclipse 1 billion views, it's altogether necessarythat we spend at least a monthof our cumulative yearwatching this somewhat pudgy Korean dudehorsey dance his waystraight through therecord books.

Evidently, 50,000 is not a high enough number for the brass at YouTube, who ceremoniously decided that this year's Rewind video should bookend itself around "Gangnam Style" with a healthy serving of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe"mixed in between.

The only saving grace is that this round we don't actually have to watch Psy pull off all the ferocious feats. Instead, such lovable YouTube personalities as Grace Helbig, DeStorm Power, Annoying Orange, iJustine, Hannah Hart, and Freddie Wong show up to handle all the half steps and horsey dances, with Geek & Sundry's Felicia Day headlining the "Call Me Maybe" sequence in the middle.

Of course, Psy shows up for a few sequences. He smashes Walk Off the Earth's guitar rather unceremoniously at the beginning of the clip and drops in to say "Rewind YouTube Style" at some point, as well.

Posted on Monday, "Rewind YouTube Style 2012" has already racked up 2.2 million views, which means it's well on its way to eclipsing the total views of last year's Rewind video, which centered around Rebecca Black, who by now has largely been forgotten by mainstream media.

The whole thing's just a few seconds longer than four minutes and features at least one really endearing shot of Hannah Hart and the guys from Epic Meal Time throwing food, which is altogether better than anything we're getting from Psy at this point.

Photo via YouTube

Memes are an Internet byproduct that aim to bring joy and laughter. They offer reprieve to the millions of people stuck at work, a small dosage of humor taken before delving into whatever lifesucking, menial task you have to do.

But like most things, for every good meme there is a terrible other meme (or three) that makes you wish you never browsed Reddit or logged on to Facebook. A meme becomes terrible for a variety of reasons: It can tasteless, stale, convoluted, or embedded with misogynistic or racist stereotypes. More often than not, it’s all of the above. 

Below is a list of 10 memes—some old, most of them new—whose repulsiveness apexed in 2012. If they’re not dead already, they need to be. Soon. Now. 

1) "I can count to potato"

Although the “I can count to potato” meme predates 2012 by a couple of years—the folks over at Know Your Meme claim the first macro associated with it emerged in 2008—it came back with a vengeance in late April 2012 when Liz Cowter lashed out against the Internet after she discovered that her daughter Heidi, who has Down syndrome, was the subject of the meme’s cruelty.

"These trolls are cowardly, nasty people who should be punished for the damage they are doing to people with their comments," Cowter toldThe Sun. "Heidi has told me she is very upset by the sites and she turns her head away when we have them on the computer screen."

Instead of apologizing for making fun of Heidi, online communities like Canvas and the subreddit r/adviceanimals doubled down on their awfulness—turning Liz herself into a meme.

2) Good Girl Gina

Here’s another meme that was technically created before 2012 but reached online fever pitch in the last 12 months. Good Girl Gina is a spinoff of the Good Guy Greg meme, a macro depicting a man smoking a joint whose actions are selfless and beneficial to others. 

But whereas Greg’s goodness stems from how considerate he is, Gina’s stems from what Reddit user LaTex calls “her capacity to serve men.”

“A Good Girl is an object to be lusted after,” wrote LaTex in a lengthy post published on r/ShitRedditSays, a subsection of the site that often calls out fellow redditors on their sexism and racism. 

“A Good Girl makes sure you're sexually satisfied, either by her or someone else. A Good Girl defies stereotypes, unless they play into your desires, like when she cooks for you. A Good Girl plays your video games and watches your movies, and she'll bring you food and drinks and drugs, but a Good Girl won't talk about any of those things, because she is a Good Girl. And a Good Girl keeps quiet and doesn't rock the boat.”

3) Kony 2012

On March 5, the nonprofit organization Invisible Children published a 30-minute short film on YouTube and Vimeo with the intention of making Joseph Kony, head of the terrible African militia Lord’s Resistance Army, the most famous person in the world. The video, which kicked off the Kony2012 campaign, aimed at raising Kony’s profile worldwide so that he would eventually be arrested by the end of 2012.

It didn’t work.  

The video became a viral sensation. All of a sudden, people who had no idea Uganda was a country in Africa (much less locate it on a map) were talking about Kony’s atrocities and how he must be stopped. Celebrities such as Nicki Minaj, P. Diddy, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, and Oprah tweeted a link to the video to their millions of followers. Every single person in the world wanted to stop Joseph Kony at all costs. 

But then… nothing happened. Retweets and Facebook posts didn't solve anything, so people just stopped caring. The meme became one of the better examples of slacktivism gone wrong—and was made worse by allegations of Invisible Children's mismanagement of funds and founder Jason Russell's crazy naked breakdown.

But hey, millions of people felt like they did some good.

4) What people think I do/What I actually do

To me, this meme is the most offensive and annoying of the lot.

This locust of an Internet sensation is a series of panels—usually six of them—that shows different interpretations of a specific job. 

According to Know Your Meme, this Internet trend gained popularity after Garnet Hertz first posted one depicting what people think contemporary artists do. The post was shared more than 5,000 times on the social network. 

“What people think I do” was a clever one, prompting every nurse and social worker to make one for their given profession. But, naturally, the meme got stale faster than "Gangnam Style" parodies, bludgeoned to death by everyone with an Internet connection.

It became apparent that the meme had jumped the shark when my own mom sent me a link to an image about stay-at-home mothers. 

5) Trayvoning

On Feb. 26, 2012, George Zimmerman shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., while reportedly on patrol for his local neighborhood watch. The incident became national news thanks to Zimmerman's racially charged language during a 911 emergency call prior to his shooting Martin.

People showed their support for Trayvon Martin by wearing a hoodie, which is what Martin was wearing the night he was murdered. Many snapped selfies and posted them to Facebook with messages of support.

Others took a different route. Insensitive jerkwads started “Trayvoning,” a photo trend inspired by “planking,” where individuals would lie on the ground wearing the aforementioned hoodie, playing dead and holding a can of Arizona iced tea and a bag of skittles—two items Martin had in his hands when he was shot. 

A Facebook group briefly appeared but was quickly taken down by the social network. The meme should have ended there, but instead, it jumped over to Tumblr, where it thrived until audiences got tired.

6) Bradying

Remember Tebowing? Yeah, we’re trying to forget the biggest sports trend of 2011 too. 

Unfortunately, 2012 had its own annoying fad: Bradying.

Bradying became popular after New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sat on the field with shoulders slumped and head down after throwing a crucial interception during Super Bowl XLVI. The Patriots would go on to lose the game to the New York Giants.

Soon after, everyone was Bradying. The trend even got its own single-serving Tumblr. Bradying became yet another example of the Internet beating a dead horse.

7) The "12-year-old sluts memes" Facebook page

I don't even have to explain why this Facebook group is on this list. 

The page, created by two individuals named James and Dom in August 2012, aims at publicly shaming teenage girls who show signs of promiscuity.

“Our intent in building this Facebook page was to bring to light the fact that many young girls under the age of consent are sexualising themselves in provocative photographs that they themselves post on their own Facebook pages to be seen by the world,” they wrote in October 2012. 

“Yes, we may have used language and content (publicly available content) that shocked many, that being said though; we did at least bring widespread attention to the issue.”

How noble of these two. Even sadder than this page’s existence is the fact that it has more than 212,000 Facebook likes. 

Equally sad: A petition with close to 5,000 signatures asking that Facebook take down the page resulted in the social network adding a “Controversial Humor” tag to the title instead of, you know, taking it down.

8) Premature Peter

Premature Peter is another instance where the Internet had a mean-spirited laugh at the expense of an unsuspecting child.

Earlier this month, a school picture of young boy wearing a T-shirt with the words “I came” emblazoned on it was uploaded to the subreddit r/funny. The post garnered more than 20,000 upvotes (and more than 18,000 downvotes), which resulted in r/AdviceAnimals co-opting the image and running wild with it.

We reported on the trend but made the editorial decision to pull it because of the age of the subject (13) and because his parents wrote us asking us to. For those very reasons, this blurb contains no actual links to the meme.

9) Insanity Wolf

What started off in 2009 as a hilarious macro of a rabid-looking wolf doing crazy things—a canine version of Chuck Norris—devolved into a series of rape jokes in 2012.

"I probably realize that people will defend the meme as being an exaggeration,” wrote user katyblerg on the feminist-oriented r/femmit, “that its supposed to be outlandish and offensive because its 'Insanity Wolf'... but as a woman, i see something like that thats supposed to be humorous and about rape, and i hate it. Am I alone?”

She wasn’t.

User Metaphoricalsimile agreed with her in yet another post, this time posted to r/ShitRedditSays, which highlighted more than 300 instances of Insanity Wolf murdering and raping women and children. Hilarious!

10) James Holmes

On July 20, 2012, James Holmes walked into a packed midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colo., and opened fire. The shooting resulted in the death of 12 people and the injury of 59 others. It was the worst and most fatal shooting of the year—until the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last week. 

Bizarrely, various pages celebrating and honoring Holmes popped up on Facebook. On Tumblr, the hashtag #holmies, used by self-identified Holmes worshippers, became a thing. 

See you in 2013, Internet. Let's actually try to be funny next year, OK?

Art by Jason Reed for the Daily Dot

With over 72 hours of footage uploaded every minute, it’s physically impossible to keep track of the content on YouTube. But in YouTube Guide, the Daily Dot will curate its five favorite finds for each workday.

1) Rhett & Link, “Kids w/ Chuck Testa Claus”

Rhett and Link bring in viral taxidermist Chuck Testa to play Santa Claus for their children. The kids give him their Christmas lists, and while some of them want a dog, they might not be Testa’s future customers.

2) Sean Chapin, “Santa Claus is Coming...Out”

Santa Claus has a big announcement this year—and you better respect. Sean Chapin, who was behind the San Francisco 49ers “It Gets Better” video, took the reigns with Santa’s coming-out tune. But this doesn’t change anything. Santa will still know if you’ve been bad or good.

3) ReelNASA, “NASA Johnson Style”

Another “Gangnam Style” parody? Unlike many of the versions we’ve seen, the latest one, created by the NASA Johnson Space Center, is educational, with re-imagined lyrics filled with information about what’s happening at NASA.

4) AVbyte, “HIPSTER SANTA - The Musical”

Santa donned a beer before it became mainstream. The hipster curmudgeon yearns for simpler times before Christmas became a commercial holiday and parents spent all their money on presents. And don’t be naughty unless you want a Nickelback CD.

5) Nerdist, “To Catch a Puppeteer”

Neil Patrick Harris’s puppet dreams often reflect real life, and after conking out in the middle of To Catch a Predator, NPH finds himself being questioned by a felt Chris Hansen as the worst kind of person: a puppeteer.

Photo via Rhett & Link/YouTube

Here at the Daily Dot, we swap GIF images with each other every morning. Now we’re looping you in. In the Morning GIF, we feature a popular—or just plain cool—GIF we found on Reddit, Canvas, or elsewhere on the Internet.

Sci-fi and social media superstar George Takei has mastered yet another medium. First fell Facebook. Then, dissatisfied with the changes there, he tackled Tumblr. Now (possibly inspired by our own GIF guide) he’s learned a new, trendy format: the animated GIF.

Oh myyyy!

“This whole ‘gif’ notion is a very interesting aspect of Tumblr,” he posted a month ago, accompanying the sentiment with an endearing GIF of Charlie Chaplin. His childlike delight was obvious when a fan sent in a GIF of the youthful Takei shirtless, fencing his way down the halls of the U.S.S. Enterprise. “Oh myyy!!! Like and a reblog if you are as excited about this as I am,” he wrote. That Takei knows all the Tumblr tricks already!

Now, with his newfound ability to capture motion, he is unrestrained in his seasonal-inspired rejoicing, exclaiming, “Feeling the holiday spirit. Oh myyy,” and illustrating it with a sassy GIF twirl (and, we've got to say, better moves than Santa will ever have). So far, 8,804 notes of star-struck applause adorn the post like so many Christmas cards.

Pop diva Ke$ha is expressing her grief for those offended by her new single "Die Young," which has been pulled from numerous radio stations' playlists in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre last week.

On Tuesday, Ke$ha said in two tweets that she's "so so sorry" to those affected by the shooting. Critics are charging that song's chorus that chants "we're gonna die young" is inappropriate to be playing after 20 kids died at a Connecticut elementary school.

"i understand. I had my very own issue with die young for this reason. I did NOT want to sing those lyrics and I was FORCED TO," Ke$ha tweeted, but it was quickly deleted. She didn't delete her other tweet apologizing to those offended.

"I'm so so so sorry for anyone who has been effected [sic] by this tragedy.and I understand why my song is now inappropriate. words cannot express," she said.

Ardent Ke$ha fans tweeted their support to singer, saying it's not her fault about the song's negative connotation. "how is your song inappropriate? It's about living life to the fullest, not about dying! :(," tweeted @marksuxx.

Interestingly, Ke$ha is listed as one of the five writers of the song, along with Fun.'s frontman Nate Ruess. It peaked in the No. 2 slot on Billboard's Top 100 chart on Dec. 8.

In an interview with Carson Daly when the song released in September, Ke$ha explained the song is meant to be an anthem. "Die Young" is about invoking a youthful attitude about living every day to its fullest.

WDAQ-FM, a pop music station in Danbury, Conn., pulled Ke$ha's song from their rotation shortly after the shooting. The station transmits to the elementary's location in Sandy Hook.

"Even though it's a fun pop/dance record about seizing the moment, all people are going to hear right now is those two words in the title," said program director Rich Minor to Billboard.

Photo by Becky Sullivan/Flickr

Want to read Reddit but don’t have the time? Our daily Reddit Digest highlights the most interesting or important discussions from around the social news site—every morning.

• Female redditors list all the sexy hints they thought were obvious but still flew over their guy friends' heads. (r/AskReddit)
   
• How will Reddit's demographics change in 50 years? (r/theoryofreddit)
   
• A 19-year-old born without arms does an AMA. (r/iama)
   
• How do you believe the demise of Reddit will come? (r/AskReddit)
   
• TwirlOfLemongrab clears up some common misconceptions about homeschooling. (r/circlebroke)
   
• How did Confederate leaders react to the assassination of Lincoln? (r/askhistorians)
   
• This is why dogs lick your face. (r/bestof)
   
• Why does fear make us lose bladder and bowel control? (r/askscience)

Pic of the day: This awesome DIY chandelier made out of mason jars.

Hottest subreddit: r/Im14andthisisWTF (1 day)

When Dusty the dog realized his holiday spending had gone over budget, he knew he would have to make a few sacrifices. Number one on that list: His annual holiday photo, done professionally by Sears Portrait Studio. This year, it would have to be a do-it-yourself job.

“Well, it’s not the best picture,” says friend Frank Rayburn, looking at the 8x10 he had just gotten in the mail. “He definitely could have brushed it up a bit in Photoshop, or put a fun holiday border around it. I’d say he still gets an ‘A’ for effort, though.”

Via xish077.

First, YouTube stars gathered to celebrate the year 2012, "Gangnam"-style. Now a new video takes a look back at the year in gaming.

The past 12 months have been eventful in the world of video games. The year was bookended by the introduction of two new gaming consoles: Sony’s handheld Playstation Vita in February and Nintendo’s Wii U in November.

“2012 in Gaming: The Year in Under 2 Minutes” was created and uploaded by YouTube user Malcolm Glock on Dec. 15. It has already gained over 11,000 views.

Set to Clint Mansell’s “Leaving Earth” from Mass Effect 3, the video opens with a clip from Halo 4, which was released in November. While major releases, such as Diablo 3 and Borderlands 2, are of course included in the video, Malcolm Glock “also tried to give some screen time to overachieving indies that deserve the attention.” Fans of such games will appreciate the video’s inclusion of titles like The Unfinished Swan.

Some major releases, such as World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Pokémon Black 2, and Pokémon White 2, are noticeably absent. Malcolm Glock blames these omissions on his desire to include the independent titles, the flow of the video, and the need to keep things under two minutes.

Photo via Spica OMFCHE/Flickr

Hide your kids, because birds of prey are snatching everybody.

At least, that seems to be the case in a new video showing a golden eagle trying to seize a small baby. For lunch, presumably.

The clip has been viewed 1,233,517 times since it was uploaded to YouTube yesterday by user MrNuclearCat, which isn't surprising given the high shock factor of what transpires on screen.

A typical day in a Montreal park almost becomes a sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds when a golden eagle, one of the largest birds of prey in North America, swoops down and snatches a toddler sitting in the grass. The bird lifts the child about a feet or so off the ground before dropping it to the floor and flying away. It's truly something else.

But the video has its detractors.

The same day that "Golden Eagle Snatches Kid" appeared online, a rebuttal clip was posted by YouTube user Cyatek.

"So im here to prove that this video is fake, because i'm a no-life without anything better to do," Cyatek writes as part of the video description.

"Very well done CGI i must say. But it's all it is, computer effects."

Cyateck backs up his claim that the video is a hoax with a screengrab and an even slower motion version of the video where the eagle doesn't have a shadow.

He also cites a video still posted by fuck_your_feeling on Reddit where part of the eagle's wing disappears, which we've posted below.

It's not just these two who maintain it's a hoax. 

Gawker's Neetzan Zimmerman wrote a post offering various reasons why the video was faked. The lot of them aren't convincing or substantive, but he does offer this Facebook post written by renowned bird expert Kenn Kaufman:

A golden eagle tries to snatch a baby in Montreal, and the video goes viral. But it's faked. Golden Eagle is a scarce visitor in the Montreal area, but the bird in the video is not a Golden Eagle, nor anything else that occurs in the wild in North America. This was clearly a setup: using a falconer's bird, and probably a fake toddler for the distant scene. With all the ignorance about nature that's out there already, the last thing we need is this kind of stupid garbage.

The jury is still out on how legitimate this video is. One thing's for certain, however: Real or not, you need to watch this video. Right now.

Photo via MrNuclearCat/YouTube

With over 72 hours of footage uploaded every minute, it’s physically impossible to keep track of the content on YouTube. But in YouTube Guide, the Daily Dot will curate its five favorite finds for each workday.

1) scottdw, “Fruit Ninja in Real Life to Dubstep!”

A lifetime of training has led to the ultimate test for one young ninja. Faced with a never-ending assault of fruit, he must cut his enemy down with dubstep in the background for inspiration in this IRL version of the popular smartphone game Fruit Ninja.

2) CorridorDigital, “The Glitch”

Many of our favorite video games are filled with glitches, and instead of resetting the game, one soldier decides to rescue his rifle, threatening the very existence of every video game character.

3) teddiefilms, “The Walking Dumb”

It’s hard to get by without getting killed in the zombie apocalypse. The walkers have put out their own PSA to parody the Melbourne Metro train PSA with a list of ways not to get killed by Rick Grimes and the gang.

4) allegiancebway, “Fifty Shades of Takei”

George Takei took a leaf out of Gilbert Gottfried’s book and recorded a promotion for Fifty Shades of Grey and can’t help but put in his own commentary as he reads some of raunchier excerpts. Oh myyy!

5) KirillWasHereCom, “Top 10 Champagne Facials in Slow-Motion”

Kirill Bichutsky celebrated the end of 2012 with a holiday party, and what other way for the man behind Champagne Facials to ring in a new year but feature a series of girls receiving champagne facials in slow-motion?

Photo via scottdw/YouTube

Every evening, the Daily Dot delivers a selection of links worth clicking from around the Web, along with the day's must-see image or video. We call it Dotted Lines.

• The latest Humble Indie Bundle is here, with loads of pay-what-you-want games and a chance to give to charity this Christmas.
• V for Vendetta is shown uncensored in China, Guy Fawkes masks and all.
• And speaking of China, here are that country’s 10 most notable Internet memes of 2012.
• Now on Netflix: Every fake show mentioned in Arrested Development.
• NORAD’s Santa Tracker ditches Google Maps for Microsoft Bing ...
• ... and Google responds with its own Santa Tracker.
• Play the best HTML5-based games of 2012, right in your browser.

Above:The 12 Memes of Christmas, featuring some cameos you'll definitely recognize.

Here at the Daily Dot, we swap GIF images with each other every morning. Now we’re looping you in. In the Morning GIF, we feature a popular—or just plain cool—GIF we found on Reddit, Canvas, or elsewhere on the Internet.

What’s that I hear? It’s the sound of the sincerest form of flattery, gentle readers: It is the sound of a ripoff.

Excuse me. An “homage.”

Movie Simpsons is a Tumblr in the finest tradition of the Internet, the tradition of the obsessive seeker after hidden truths. The tradition of the fan who can recite all of Star Wars. The fan who can translate Wikipedia into Klingon and correct its errors. The fan who knows every continuity error in Doctor Who and has developed an elaborate theory which explains them as hidden messages to the devout.

Well, maybe not that last one; let’s leave me out of it.

Movie Simpsons finds those fleeting moments in The Simpsons which have been inspired by classic movie scenes and pairs them as GIFs with their originals. It’s James Cagney smashing a grapefruit into Mae Clark’s face in The Public Enemy, and it is also Bart smushing it into Homer’s blank mug. A quick peruse of the Tumblr brings a new appreciation for just how layered and referential The Simpsons is. Birthed in the Golden Age (or at least the Gold Plated Age) of Postmodernism, it became perfectly of its time by referencing the presumably greater past. The resonance isn’t simply in the gestures, but in the characters as well. Bart is the James Cagney thug in embryonic form.

Mr. Burns, the malevolent one percenter and Homer’s heartless boss at the nuclear power plant, is rumored to have been based on Rupert Murdoch, but this GIF explains his roots even better. If his heart grew three sizes, maybe he’d even notice Waylon Smithers’ unrequited adoration (Smithers is unquestionably the Max in this rewrite). Pairing “Last Exit to Springfield” with “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”—the Boris Karloff animated version, not the nightmare fuel Jim Carrey live version—it’s clear that Burns and the Grinch are two of a kind. Er, unkind.

For more seasonal GIFs, be sure to check out our exclusive GIFcards Tumblr, featuring the work of some of the best artists on the Internet.

Thomas the kitty is very worried.  In particular, he is terrified that the world is going to end on December 21, as predicted by numerous misinterpretations of the Mayan calendar.  According to some reports, Thomas has refused to leave his bedroom for the past week. 

“We told him that in all likelihood that world wasn’t going to end this week,” said Hugh Hamilton, a source close to the situation.  ”But that just made him more worked up.  He’s a very superstitious cat, and now he’s convinced we’ve jinxed it.”

Via moe_s.

Want to read Reddit but don’t have the time? Our daily Reddit Digest highlights the most interesting or important discussions from around the social news site—every morning.

• Reddit helps a deaf man caption a video of his late grandfather. (r/bestof)

• Reddit takes the Obama/Spider-Man kid picture and gradually empties the room (with GIF). (r/photoshopbattles)

• Britt Daniel (Spoon, Divine Fits) will answer your questions. (r/IAmA)

• Given today's technology, how long would it take us to reach the nearest habitable planet, 12 light-years away? (Hint: A long time.) (r/askscience)

• Redditors share the sexual "experiments" they've done that make them cringe now. (r/askreddit)

• Romance languages descended from Latin, but what are the roots of Latin? (r/askhistorians)

• r/ShittyBestOf2012 will take your votes now.

Photo of the day: It's happening. (r/pics)

Hottest subreddit: r/Im14andThisIsWTF (2 days)

If you had less than a day to live, what would you watch?

According to the ancient Mayans and their limited calendar-making resources, the world will come to an end on Dec. 21. With our history and culture facing total annihilation, we at the Daily Dot put together a list of the top 10 videos that help illustrate the history of our planet’s last great medium: the Internet.

YouTube and other video sites have brought the world together, offering everything from entertainment to inspiration to, of course, memes.

1) durossi, "The Major Events in World History (Amazing videos !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)"

Why not kick off the guide to world-changing videos by providing a nod to the media that preceded the Internet?

Set to Symphony No. 4 in G Minor as performed by the SWR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ernest Bour, this 13-minute-long video compiles footage of major events from 1905 through 2004, a year before YouTube was launched.

Beginning with footage of a young Albert Einstein, the video traces the unfolding of world history as told by film and television. Included are the Titanic, Al Capone, the Hindenburg disaster, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and the September 11 attacks.

2) jawed, "Me at the Zoo"

On the surface, “Me at the Zoo” doesn’t appear too impressive. The footage, clocking in at a whopping 19 seconds, shows a young man explaining the length of elephants’ trunks at the San Diego Zoo.

Suddenly, you notice the video’s upload date: Apr. 23, 2005.

This was the first video ever uploaded to YouTube.

Everything from “Gangnam Style” to the overabundance of cat videos out there owes its life to this short clip and the young man therein, who is none other than YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. While uploading tools and sharing sites existed prior to April 2005, YouTube revolutionized the way people watch, share, and popularize videos.

3) mattharding2718, "Where the Hell Is Matt?" (2005)

Prior to 2005, Matt Harding was just another world traveler who liked to preserve the memories of his trips with video. During trips to Vietnam (2003) and Africa (2004), friends suggested that Harding dance in the center of the frame, with the breathtaking scenery of his location on display in the background. He agreed, spliced together 15 different dance scenes, and set it to the song “Sweet Lullaby” by the French music group Deep Forest.

Harding’s simple dance videos went viral even before the advent of YouTube, spreading via email and his website. The footage from his 2003 and 2004 trips earned over 20,000 hits per day. In 2006, he uploaded his footage to YouTube, where it has since become an annual favorite.

Harding travels around the world each year, dancing with residents of the cities and countries he visits.

4) homestarrunnerdotcom, "Video Games"

The Flash cartoon site Homestar Runner exploded on the Internet in 2001. Its title character, a dimwitted yet lovable marshmallow, lived in the land of Strong Badia with the site’s fellow breakout star, wrestling-mask-covered Strong Bad, and a host of other odd, eccentric characters. From celebrating the holiday of “Decemberween” to creating their own Flash cartoons, the gang enjoyed Internet fame for almost 10 years.

Matthew and Michael Chapman, the minds behind Homestar Runner, created much more than an absurd, relatively SFW cartoon series. A great deal of Internet memes originated on the Homestar Runner site, such as the one-armed dragon “Trogdor the Burninator.” 

The Strong Bad email cartoon “Video Games,” uploaded in 2004, is the origin of the massively popular Internet word “asplode,” a poorly translated version of “explode.” It first hit the Internet as part of Strong Bad’s 3D vector game, uttered by the game’s antagonist (Strong Bad’s giant floating head) when the main player is killed.

“Asplode” and “Your head asplode” have appeared in countless online forums and message boards and are widely used phrases for pictures and videos of exploding objects.

5) RickAstleyVEVO, "Rick Astley—Never Gonna Give You Up"

The world is ending next week. Why not go back and Rickroll yourself (or one of your friends) one last time?

“Rickrolling,” the act of redirecting a normal-seeming link to Astley’s 1987 music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up,” began on a 4chan thread in 2007. According to Know Your Meme, the first people to be Rickrolled were 4chan users who believed they were accessing a link to the then-new video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

The meme quickly found its way beyond 4chan, spreading not only across the Internet, but into the real world as well. Everyone and everything—from a crowd of New York Mets fans to the Oregon House of Representatives—were Rickrolled during the height of the meme’s popularity (roughly 2007 to 2009).

Astley himself embraced the newfound fame. He even self-Rickrolled the 2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City.

6) HDCYT, "Charlie Bit My Finger—Again!"

In 2007, YouTube user HDCYT uploaded an innocent video of his two young sons, Harry and Charlie. Bouncing his younger brother in his lap, Harry sticks his finger into the mouth of the toddler—who promptly bites it.

“Charlie bit me!” Harry wails. “That really hurt, Charlie!”

Prior to 2007, this video would have never found its way out of the British family’s home movie collection. Thanks to millions of YouTube users enamored of Charlie and Harry, however, “Charlie Bit My Finger—Again!" went on to become the most-viewed YouTube video that was not professionally produced.

7) invisiblechildreninc, "KONY 2012"

By 2012, “viral video” was a well-known term and the potential reach of online videos was understood to be powerful.

The organization Invisible Children decided to test those waters with its video “KONY 2012.”

The video, a 30-minute documentary shot by filmmaker Jason Russell, details the mass genocide taking place in Darfur, Sudan. It exposes the use of children as soldiers and sex slaves by Ugandan guerilla group leader and head of Lord’s Resistance Army Joseph Kony. The video’s intent was to arrest Kony and remove him from power by the end of 2012.

The organization’s “viral” tactic worked. Between Vimeo, YouTube, and other sites, “Kony 2012” was viewed over 50 million times within days of its February 2012 release. Celebrities, including Justin Bieber and Diddy, responded to the video and pledged to lend their support to the cause. 

The video is a notable and remarkable example of the wide reach and power of the Internet. But what the video actually accomplished? A different story.

8) wzr0713, "JB Fanvideo"

When Laina Morris uploaded “JB Fanvideo” to YouTube in June 2012, she probably felt that she was doing little more than submitting her entry for Justin Bieber’s online “sing-off” contest. To the tune of Bieber’s song “Girlfriend,” Morris sang her own lyrics that painted her as a clingy, suspicious girlfriend.

She had no idea that she was creating the Internet’s latest meme.

The combination of her lyrics and insanity-tinged eyes led her fellow Internet users to dub her the “Overly Attached Girlfriend.” Instead of regretting the video posting, Morris embraced her notoriety. She kept fans updated on her life through Twitter and Facebook and even performed charity work.

“JB Fanvideo” was an example of exactly how a video’s spread can result in celebrity status for some folks—whether they want it or not.

9) redbull, "Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from 128k—Mission Highlights"

In October 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner broke the world record for highest skydive when he successfully plummeted 24 miles to Earth.

Footage of his speedy descent, which broke the sound barrier, also resulted in a new record: most-watched live streaming event. More than 8 million people watched the jump on YouTube alone, with millions more watching via corporate websites like The Discovery Channel and jump sponsor Red Bull.

From the breathtaking views of Earth to the overall inspirational feat, the front-row seat to the unprecedented ride should not be missed by anyone.

10) Psy, "Gangnam Style"

Admit it. You knew this one was coming. 

In July 2012, the video of Korean pop star Psy performing “Gangnam Style” was uploaded to YouTube. Its catchy electropop and “galloping” dance style was embraced by the Internet and the song quickly went viral. Parodies and homages popped up everywhere. Psy himself became an internationally recognized music star.

In a few short months, the video successfully surpassed Justin Bieber’s music video for his hit single “Baby” in popularity, earning close to a billion views.

Photo via Andy Zeigert/Flickr

For those jonesing for the the fourth season of the critically acclaimed Arrested Development, Netflix has a quick hit for you.

The biggest video-streaming subscription service, which is bringing back the dysfunctional but lovable Bluth family for a fourth season sometime in spring 2013, has added every fake television show and movie mentioned in Arrested Development to Instant Watch. From Les Cousins Dangereux, the saucy but incestous French film about kissing cousins, to Mock Trial With J. Reinhold, the reality show featuring Beverly Hills Cop star Judge Reinhold—they're all there.

Sadly, the Instant Watch pages are all fake. Those looking to catch a glimpse of misguided topless spring-breakers on Girls With Low Self-Esteem will be disappointed. When you click on the fake titles, Netflix will take you to the Arrested Development episode where it first makes an appearance. But hey, there's nothing wrong with having more Bluths in your life.

Below are all the fake shows and movies found on Netflix, synopsis and cover art included. Note the hilarious descriptions, or "This movie is: … ," given to each title.

Here's hoping that Netflix one day does the same thing for Community's Inspector Spacetime.

Families With Low Self-Esteem

Cast: Tobias Fünke

Genre: Documentaries, Social & Cultural Documentaries

This movie is: Cerebral, Emotional, Visionary

Tobias Fünke, the semi-renowned Freudian analyst/therapist and former chief resident of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, provides counseling to families deep in crisis in this deeply probing and emotionally uplifting series.

Girls With Low Self-Esteem: Newport Beach

Cast: George Bluth Jr.

Genre: TV Shows, Reality TV

This movie is: Raunchy, Scandalous

Sunshine and self-esteem issues collide as drunken, scantily clad co-eds with low self-worth and absolutely no shame hit Spring Break in Southern California. It's a wild, weekend adventure that you'll never forget ... but they'll wish they could.

Note: Yes, the cover does say Orlando. But the show is listed as Newport Beach.

Wrench

Cast: Moses Taylor

Genre: TV Shows, Crime TV Shows, TV Action & Adventure

This movie is: Exciting, Gritty, Suspenseful

When faced with some of the toughest cases the mean streets of Los Angeles has to offer, by-the-books detective Frank Wrench realizes he needs to loosen up, break some rules and maybe even throw out the book entirely, in order to get tough on crime.

Les Cousins Dangereux

Genre: Dramas, Foreign Movies, Romantic Movies, Foreign Dramas

This movie is: Controversial, Steamy, Romantic

To escape the scorn of their disapproving families, two cousins flee to a sleepy, provincial town in France but are forced to hide their incestuous affair from the prying eyes of local villagers in this awkward tale of forbidden romance.

Scandalmakers

Cast: Tobias Fünke, Lucille Bluth, George Bluth Sr.

Genre: TV Shows, Reality TV

This movie is: Scandalous

No stone goes unturned and privacy means nothing in this reality series where sordid secrets and ugly truths come to light. Go behind the scenes of today's tabloid headlines with re-enactments of real-life incriminating scandals.

Ready, Aim … Marry Me!

Cast: Jack Dorso

Genre: Action & Adventure, Classic Movies, Comedies, Romantic Movies

This movie is: Exciting, Romantic

After an acrimonious parting of ways with fellow Nazi hunter Red McGibbon, Bullet shows he's nobody's sidekick by flying solo in search of comedic adventures. But along the way he discovers romance in the arms of a sassy socialite.

Mock Trial With J. Reinhold

Genre: TV Shows, Reality TV

This movie is: Campy

All rise for actor Judge Reinhold as he presides over this reality courtroom/variety series, featuring music by American Idol sensation William Hung and his band, Hung Jury, as they take real families and put them through mock trials.

Caged Wisdom: Musings From Prison

Cast: George Bluth Sr.

Genre: Faith and Spirituality, Judaica Movies

This movie is: Inspiring

Based on his book, Musings From Prison, George Bluth presents the latest collection from his ongoing series of life lessons and motivational discourses on the Jewish faith, all while incarcerated at the Orange County Prison.

World's Worst Drivers

Cast: Lucille Bluth

Genre: TV Shows, Reality TV, Travel & Adventure Reality TV

This movie is: Exciting

Classic crashes, funny fender-benders and stupid sideswipes are all on display in this series that tracks down the world's most terrible drivers on (and off) the road. There is nowhere to hide from these highway horrors.

Boyfights

Cast: Michael Bluth, George Bluth Jr., Buster Bluth

Genre: TV Shows, TV Documentaries

This movie is: Violent, Emotional, Exciting

Sibling rivalry is taken to the extreme as brothers battle it out in this compilation of adolescent boyfights, featuring "A Day in the Life of American Boys," A Boyfights Cookout," "Backseat Boyfights" and "I Don't Want to Go to Bed."

Photo via Netflix