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First YouTube video was uploaded 20 years ago today— Watch the original clip

The first-ever YouTube video was uploaded 20 years ago on this day, and the San Diego Zoo earned international acclaim for that. Here's why that happened.

Published on: Apr 24, 2025, 05:11:34 IST
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YouTube is one of the most popular online platforms when it comes to watching videos for nearly two decades now. But very few know about the first-ever video that was uploaded on this platform and what its content was. On April 23, 2005, the San Diego Zoo entered the internet's hall of fame for being the focus of the first video uploaded on YouTube ever.

First YouTube video was uploaded 20 years ago today— Watch the original clip (REUTERS)
First YouTube video was uploaded 20 years ago today— Watch the original clip (REUTERS)


First video on YouTube- why it's special

The video, titled, "Me at the zoo", shows YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, who uploaded the video standing in front of elephants. In the video, Karim can be heard saying, "All right, so here we are in front of the elephants. The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long trunks, and that's cool. And that's pretty much all there is to say".




This short and sweet video of just 19 seconds, was able to garner 355 million views and 17 million likes across two decades of its existence and remains a historic moment in the world of internet and communications technology.

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Single video, 5 million subs

This video remains the only upload on Jawed Karim's YouTube channel, but he has already amassed a whopping 5.34 million subscribers with just one single upload. This simply depicts the power of the online community that YouTube has been able to gather over the last 20 years.

San Diego Zoo's claim to fame

Interestingly, the San Diego Zoo, where this video was shot 20 years back, also joined in on the fun and commented on the video five years ago. The admin of the San Diego Zoo handle took to the comment box of the video to say, “We are honored that the first ever YouTube video was filmed here!”

(@sandiegozoo)
(@sandiegozoo)

Now, if the video views are a record, this particular comment is also not far behind as it has earned more than 4 million likes, with reports suggesting that this is the most-liked comment of all time on YouTube.

  • Shrey Banerjee
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shrey Banerjee

    Shrey Banerjee is a journalist and media enthusiast, specializing in world news, politics, tech, and sports. With more than 5 years of experience, his current role as a Senior Content Producer at HT is mostly centered around global news. A Jadavpur University alum, he’s based in Kolkata and loves scrolling his social media feed during his leisure time.Read More

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