'Charlie Bit My Finger' Stars Are Older, and Still Adorable

YouTube is 10, but the viral video that kicked off the Internet’s obsession with funny kids is only eight. The two boys—Charlie (the perpetrator) and his older brother Harry (the victim) have grown up as video stars with their own YouTube channel.

In a recent news interview the 11- and 9-year-olds admit that it is a little strange that their video has racked up more than 800 million views– more than Taylor Swift, One Direction or Adele.

My kids have definitely contributed to that view count. Eight years later, they still quote it, walking around talking in fake British accents pretending to be Harry.

Even now, when there 300 hours of video uploaded every minute, ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ has a special place in the pantheon of viral favorites. What is it about a simple 56-second clip of a baby biting his brother’s finger?

The only reason it ended up on YouTube in the first place was because Harry and Charlie’s father, Howard, wanted to send the exchange to their godfather, but the file was too large to send by email. Luckily, Howard went the YouTube route: The family eventually earned roughly £500,000 (approximately $759,000) through commercials and product sponsorship.

Harry and Charlie (Charlie has hair now!) are still adorable, and recently reenacted the famous scene for the camera. It’s still cute, but I hope that at YouTube’s 30th birthday they won’t have to do it again. For the time being, the boys say they aren’t embarrassed by their fame, but only time will tell.