"BADGER" Mania
“Badger Badger
Badger, our “Let’s Get Animated” selection in PingRay's Issue 3, is not only an irresistible, high-energy
animation … it is also an Internet phenomenon, having been passed along like a
hot tip at the racetrack.
(It’s unfortunate that “viral” is the word most often
used to describe such Net distribution. Relaying something one enjoys
could not be more unlike, say, a computer virus or the flu. If the term is
ever up for re-consideration, we nominate something less unhealthy, although
admittedly less pithy, like “cascading effect.”) 
“Badger” was created by Jonti Picking, who also created "The Everyday Happenings of Weebl and Sometimes Weebl's Friend Bob" (informally known as
“Weebl and Bob”), which has had its own robust life on the Net and on MTV.
“Weebl and Bob” first went online in 2002; “Badger” was first distributed in
2003, via the newsletter of the British humor site, B3ta.com, and then
spread like wildfire from there.
As befits a
legendary animation, “Badger” even has its own, definitive entry in Wikipedia, the online community-managed encyclopedia....including a definitive explanation of the dispute over the lyrics.
But perhaps the best
indications of the unique popularity of “Badger” are the takeoffs/sequels
created in its wake—including a Lego Version, a Santa version, a Halloween version and even a Harry Potter version,
to name a few.
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