Would You Give Birth Again Yahoo Answers
An Interview With the Man Behind Yahoo Answers' Infamous "Am I Pragnent?" Video
"It'due south definitely weird to call back that this is going to exist my mark on history."
"How is prangent formed?" It's a question that has haunted people to the melody of xl million YouTube views and come to symbolize a very specific era of the mid-2000s internet. An era that, with the looming shutdown of Yahoo Answers, Yahoo's question-and-answer forum, is nearly to be lost to fourth dimension. (For the uninitiated, Yahoo Answers allowed anybody to submit questions nigh, well, just about anything, which, every bit with all things on the net, led to a combination of one-act, racism, genuinely useful information, and outright bizarreness.)
To memorialize Yahoo Answers, Madison Malone Kircher, co-host of ICYMI, Slate'south podcast almost internet civilisation, talked to the creator of the viral "How Is Prangent Formed?" video about his earliest memories of Yahoo Answers, the wildest moments in the site's history, and what the internet is losing with the platform's demise. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Madison Malone Kircher: How did the video come near? What inspired you to create this—I'll say it—masterpiece?
J.T. Sexkik: Oh, well, thanks. Mayhap this will sound weird, but before I even had the idea of making this stuff into YouTube videos, I would just exercise this for fun. I'd sit around with a couple of friends or my girlfriend, and nosotros'd just get digging effectually on Yahoo Answers and reading questions out loud and laughing our asses off at all the weird stuff that'south on there.
Do you retrieve any of the other weird stuff you found in those days?
Oh man, so here'due south one genre that I really like: questions where somebody volition exist looking for the title of a song that they heard. People who literally will be like, "What'southward the drum and bass song that goes similar doo doo doo doo doo doo doo?" At that place's one that's "What vocal is 'royals royals'?"
Like "Royals" by Lorde, correct?
Yep. The question is: " 'royals royals' and then she says something and goes 'royals royals' and then at that place'southward music and she says, 'royals royals.' "
Incredible. So, obviously you lot had a lot of options to choose from. What made yous choose to brand a video about the pregnancy questions specifically?
I had a large folder of all unlike screenshots of questions and stuff that I found. And I had a couple pregnancy-related ones. Those tended to exist pretty adept, and at some point I was merely like: "OK, permit'due south really pull this thread. How many ways tin you actually misspell the word pregnant?" And it turns out the answer is fucking space.
There's a moment in the video, it's about. "if all woman accept starch masks," and yous just crack yourself up. I'chiliad curious, how many times did you have this? Did you make yourself laugh equally difficult as we laughed watching it?
Information technology'southward funny you lot mentioned that one, because I really did ii takes and that was the spot where I disintegrated. I barely managed to get past that one, and I only completely lost my composure after that. So that was where I broke off. Merely other than that, it was merely the directly two takes. Just bang, bang, bang, only going down the list.
What was information technology like watching the video go viral?
When I make a video, I never set out to go viral. I'm never thinking, "Oh, this is going to be a large smash hit. I'yard going to be the next Jake Paul with this," or anything similar that. Just it's heady. It's really weird. Fifty-fifty at present, it'due south weird. And information technology's funny when I'll be on Reddit or Twitter and the word significant will come up upward and then the replies volition just erupt into "Pregante," "pregananant." It's absurd though.
You go by J.T. Sexkik online. People don't know y'all in real life as "Pregananant" guy, correct?
Some actually do. That's some other weird attribute of information technology, when I'chiliad meeting a new person for the first time and 1 of my friends is like, "Oh, he's the pregnant Yahoo Answers guy!" And they're like, "What? You're that guy?" And I'm like, "I'yard just going to … I'm going to go out now."
At least with your online footprint, information technology seems like you're fairly removed from it in a way that I think a lot of viral creators are unable to separate from their content, save for your friend doing your PR.
Pretty much.
I presume making YouTube videos is non your 24-hour interval chore, right?
No, no, no.
Did yous ever submit or answer Yahoo Answers questions seriously?
No, no, no, no. I simply discover from a distance. I don't interact—prime directive. I've used Stack Substitution, if that counts. That's basically Yahoo Answers except non stupid. So peradventure that kind of counts.
How are y'all feeling about the news? What was your offset thought when you heard Yahoo Answers was shutting downward?
It'south a release. My spirit can rest now. But I mean, it's a bummer. It's a big piece of internet history. It's a monument to only how weird and dumb and crazy the internet can be. At the aforementioned time, part of me wonders how it lasted as long as information technology did. I feel bad in a way for the people who used it seriously, because you take these people who could not fit together the most bones building blocks of life, and at present they're only being kind of set adrift out into the ether. Another way that I look at it, though, is that cyberspace communities are more than nigh the people than the website itself. For example we know, based on the big exodus out of Tumblr that happened a couple of years agone, that when a site dies, even though the community is gone, the users, the people, don't but disappear. They but go somewhere else.
Is in that location a planned promised land for the exodus from Yahoo Answers?
There are plenty of other Q&A sites that are basically the same thing. In that location'south Question.com. There's Answers.com. At that place'due south this site called BlurtIt.com. There'southward eHelp.com, which actually has a lot of practiced, classic, dumb, Yahoo Answers–type stuff on information technology. So in that location are definitely places where they could end up.
I somehow merely keep getting stuck on Quora. If you go to Quora one time, you're getting emails forever.
Oh yes. How could I forget?
What was the worst affair you lot ever saw on Yahoo Answers?
It is kind of a bummer when you're on in that location and y'all see people asking questions that they should actually be request a doctor or a therapist probably. At that place was this ane I saw that really stuck with me. It was this guy who had a sexual attraction to Garfield—like cartoon lasagna true cat. That on its own is completely fine. You know, whatsoever floats your boat. I don't care most that. But he likewise was afraid that this would make him gay. And so it's like, I desire to fuck Garfield, only I don't desire to be gay considering then it would be weird.
That is how it happens. That'due south definitely how it happened to me. I was sexually attracted to Gar—no, I'm kidding.
Well, hold on. I'm not finished still.
Oh no, I'm sorry.
And then he was agape that this would make him gay. And then in his fantasies almost Garfield, he would imagine Garfield with, like, a hot woman's trunk. The style he described information technology was Garfield's caput on Pam Anderson's body. And he had this rich, inner fantasy life of him with the Garfield-Pam–Anderson hybrid anathema that he came up with. And he had like drawings and stories that he wrote and stuff. And his girlfriend in real life plant all this stuff and freaked the fuck out. And he's coming to Yahoo Answers, and he's like, "Help. What practise I practise? How do I fix my relationship?" Aye. This is above the pay grade of Yahoo Answers. You need counseling, my friend.
Professional help. On the flip side, I'm curious if you ever came across any reactions that were genuinely good or heartwarming. I hesitate to say "inspiring," but—
Heartwarming is not actually something I would use to describe Yahoo Answers. In fact, it'southward really the opposite—specially more recently at present that it's become kind of a joke. A lot of times the answers are a peanut gallery where people will roast the question asker. As far equally the best stuff—the stuff that I've had the most fun reading—if I had to selection one, information technology would probably be "How is babby formed."
A classic.
Some other thing that I actually like is people who write questions talking nigh hypocrites, but they spell it like Hippocrates. And then you go questions that are similar, "Why are all Democrats Hippocrates?" Or simply, like, "I hate Hippocrates." And it'southward fun to imagine that they're really talking about the ancient philosopher.
Right, right, right. The guy who gave us the oath that all medical professionals take—we hate him. I feel like nosotros should explain for people whose brains are maybe not every bit mushy as yours and mine: "How is babby formed" was a Yahoo Answers question request about how a babe is made, but babe was spelled "babby," which, merely, jokes aplenty.
Yes. And not only the question. It was not just the question of "How is babby formed? how girl get pragnent"—but actually the answer to this question is, "They need to do way instain female parent> who kill thier babbys. becuse these babby cant frigth dorsum? it was on the news this mroing a mother in ar who had kill her three kids. they are taking the 3 babby back to new york too lady to balance my pary are with the father who lost his chrilden ; I am truley sorry for your lots."
Do yous take a favorite on the long list of pregnancy questions in your video?
Oh human. It'south got to be the "starch masks."
Then I know you said you don't make videos with the thought of "This is going to be the thing that makes me go viral," which is great considering trying to go viral is a recipe to fail, but can yous walk me through what it was like watching that view counter and realizing, "Oh, shit. I accept made a truly viral video here"?
So before this I had like 30,000 subs. I had a niggling niche carved out, merely nada remotely close to this. I was non prepared for fricking Markiplier, PewDiePie—Steve Carell tweeted it at one betoken.
There's a trio.
Yes. The three comedy grades: Pewdiepie, Markiplier, and Steve Carell. I'one thousand sure he'd be happy to exist held in such esteemed company, but, yeah, that was fuckin' bizarre.
Did you lot tell your girlfriend, your friends, your family?
Yeah. It kind of all happened at in one case. I had people who I knew from school messaging me on Facebook, and my girlfriend's whole family knows near the YouTube channel and everything at present, which is pretty awkward. Every time we take some kind of family become-together, people are similar, "Oh, significant, pregananant, put the video up on the Tv set," which is especially weird because there is this one point in the video where I say "pre-cum," and then merely hearing my voice through the speakers, saying the word pre-cum in front of my girlfriend's entire family, is not a great experience.
And then is the video monetized? Did you brand money off this thing?
Enough for beer and pizza.
Does it continue to pay for beer and pizza?
Yeah, yep. I get a trivial scratch every month from that.
Exercise yous think y'all could recite the thing by retentivity at this signal? I'thou not going to make yous do it. I'yard merely curious.
No, in fact, I really can't go back and spotter my onetime videos. I blench. I tin't repeat whatever of that from memory. I haven't really seen the video, probably, since I posted it.
I hadn't seen it in a while until the peachy Yahoo Answers announcement. I'1000 certain there was a spike in your views, correct?
In that location was a niggling bit of a revival at that place, yep.
Is at that place something y'all wish you were known for instead? Do y'all ever have a moment where you terminate and recollect, "Oh, this is the thing I am all-time known for in this world"?
You know, it'south definitely weird to recall that this is going to be my mark on history. This is what I'thousand going to be remembered for. I am the Yahoo Answers guy. But I can't mutter. I don't want to be a jerk nearly it.
Yeah, totally. There are worse things.
There are definitely way worse things to be known for.
To listen to the rest of the episode, including more than on Yahoo Answers, subscribe to ICYMI .
Source: https://slate.com/culture/2021/04/yahoo-answers-shutting-down-pregnant-video-interview.html
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