Posted on Monday, November 18th, 2013 by Emily Mendel
Wasted Humanity measures how long society has “wasted” on specific YouTube videos. Plug the URL of the video into their search engine, and feel a little bit sad for humanity (depending on the video).
Ever wonder how long we’ve spent watching those viral YouTube videos that everyone and their mother has seen? Wasted Humanity calculates how many years we’ve spent watching videos based on view count, and video length. For example, according to the site, humanity has wasted 14,626 years watching Psy’s Gangnam Style music video. They even go a step further by reminding you that it only took 4 years to build the Titanic, by comparison. And if you really want to depress yourself, consider that we’ve wasted 713 years watching the Nyan Cat video. Given those numbers, I think I’m one of the few left whose never actually seen it. But don’t lose faith in humanity yet! As it turns out, we also spend a lot of time on more insightful and scholarly videos. We’ve collectively spent 204 years watching Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk on education (seriously, if you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it now), and 197 years watching A Pep Talk from a Kid President to You. This site is a cool way to see what we’re watching, and how long we’ve spent watching it–the good, the bad, and the ugly.
