About

Skeletons are the internal framework that support the structure of an animal. In popular media and online, undead creatures are often depicted as animated skeletons and are associated with the annual Halloween celebration.

Online History

On YouTube

On October 10th, 2005, YouTuber lethaledge25 uploaded a video titled “Skeleton Dance,” in which a skeleton puppet performs a dance orchestrated by a street performer (shown below, left). In nine years, the video received upwards of 2.7 million views and 630 comments. On September 7th, 2009, YouTuber Super Simple Songs uploaded an animated music video titled “The Skeleton Dance”, which gathered over 30 million views and 1,300 comments in the next five years (shown below, right).

  

On October 20th, 2011, the “Will it Blend” web series uploaded a video in which a skeleton Halloween prop is pureed in a blender (shown below, left). In four years, the video received more than 2.4 million views and 10,100 comments. On October 1st, 2013, YouTuber MagicofRahat uploaded a video titled “Drive Thru Skeleton Prank,” in which he drives up to fast food restaurants with a skeleton in the driver’s seat (shown below, right). In the first year, the video gained over 10.6 million views and 12,000 comments.

  

On Tumblr

On Tumblr, many users post photos and animated GIFs featuring skeletons under the tag “#420sc” short for “420 Skeleton Collective.” A Facebook^[8] page titled “420sc” was launched on April 24th, 2014. Several single topic blogs dedicated to skeleton-related media have been launched, including “Spooky Skeleton Pics,”^[3] “Fuck Yeah Skeleton Pics,”^[4] “Skeleton TV”^[5] and “Skeleton Meme.”^[6] The Tumblr Jerry Seinfeld’s Skeleton^[7] uploads screenshots of 3D modeled skeletons reenacting scenes from the television sitcom Seinfeld.