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Nancy Yang

YouTube turns 10: See its first video ever

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"Me at the zoo"
A screen shot of "Me at the zoo," the first video uploaded to YouTube on April 23, 2005.
Screen shot via YouTube

Editor's note: A version of this story first appeared Feb. 13, 2015

Happy birthday, YouTube! (The video-sharing site turns 10 this year.)

Co-founder Chad Hurley registered the domain and trademark for YouTube on Feb. 14, 2005. The first video was uploaded April 23, 2005. And in May 2005, the company launched its beta test site.

Today, YouTube has more than 1 billion users.

Approximately 300 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute.

And YouTube is localized in 75 countries and available in 61 languages.

In honor of YouTube turning the big 1-0, take a look back at 10 YouTube milestones:

1.) Did Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" help start YouTube?

Co-founder Jawed Karim says he was inspired by two different events in 2004 — Jackson's Super Bowl halftime show and the Asian tsunami.

http://youtu.be/jW97CWfeWdY

According to USA Today, "Karim recalled the difficulty involved in finding and watching videos online of Jackson accidentally baring her breast during the Super Bowl show. The same was true with the many amateur videos made of that winter's devastating tsunami."

So he, Hurley and Steve Chen began working a video-sharing Web site.

2.) First video on YouTube: "Me at the zoo"

The first YouTube video was uploaded at 8:27 p.m. on April 23, 2005. Featuring Karim, one of the co-founders, it was shot by Yakov Lapitsky at the San Diego Zoo, according to its description.

To date, it has been viewed more than 19 million times.

3.) First video to reach 1 million views: Ronaldinho's "Touch of Gold"

The first to reach this milestone was a Nike ad featuring soccer star Ronaldinho trying on gold shoes in September 2005. Part of the reason it was so buzzworthy was the debate over whether the clip was fake.

4.) 100 million views a day: 2006

YouTube hit 100 million views per day by July 2006. In October, Google bought Youtube for $1.65 billion.

"Two kings have gotten together and we're going to be able to provide you with even better service and build even more innovative features for you," the founders said in a video about the acquisition.

5.) CNN/YouTube presidential debates

In 2007, ordinary Americans got to ask the presidential candidates questions via YouTube videos. It was said to be the first Web-to-TV debate partnership.

The Democratic debate was held July 23, 2007, and the Republican debate aired Nov. 23, 2007.

http://youtu.be/B5mDCDAkOlQ

Politicians have continued to actively use YouTube to reach constituents. Obama recently wrapped up his State of the Union tour by taking questions on YouTube.

6.) Justin Bieber

The world can thank YouTube for Justin Bieber. The Canadian singer and his mom posted videos of him performing song covers online, which soon built a following. He caught the attention of talent agent Scooter Braun and landed an audition with R&B star Usher. Bieber was quickly signed to a recording contract and the rest is history.

His music video for "Baby" is the second most-watched YouTube video of all time.

7.)1 billion views a day: 2009

By October 2009, YouTube was racking up 1 billion views a day. One of the most viral videos of 2009 came courtesy of a Minnesota couple. To date, the "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" has more than 88 million views. It was parodied on "The Office" and in a T-Mobile ad ahead of the royal wedding of Britain's Prince William to Kate Middleton.

8.) First video to hit 1 billion — and 2 billion — views: "Gangnam Style" by PSY

Nearly three years after it was uploaded, the ubiquitous "Gangnam Style" continues to have legs. It reached 1 billion views on Dec. 21, 2012, and hit the 2 billion milestone on May 30, 2014.

It continues to be the most-viewed clip of all time on YouTube. Last year, some news outlets reported the video has become so popular it "broke" YouTube's video view counter, but that apparently was just a joke.

9.) Most viral video ever: "Kony 2012"

Were you one of the millions who watched the 30-minute "Kony 2012" documentary about Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony in 2012? You weren't alone. It racked up 100 million views in six days, making it the most viral video in history, Mashable reported.

10.) Keyboard Cat

And because you can't watch a bunch of YouTube videos without watching at least one featuring the true superstars of the Internet — cats — we leave you with one of the most iconic: Keyboard Cat.

The viral video has more than 38 million views and spawned a meme, a website, a Wonderful Pistachios commercial and countless parodies.

Play us off, Keyboard Cat.