>> artwork made with ketchup and fries? they are videos so original, so funny, so bizarre, you just have to pass them on. they are view by millions. what's their secret formula?

>> i'm contessa brewer. have your friends e-mailed a video that so is so funny and unique and ob surd, you felt like you had to send it to anyone you know, you had a hand in spread ache viral video. it's not big budget or production values that make them so compelling. in this hour, you see the most watched viral videos and each has more than a million hits on line, but why? you be the judge? ketchup and fries make a great snack, but can they make a work of art. using about ten packets of ketchup and fries, they prove, yes, they can. >> i couldn't believe it was real. >> in march of 2007, jason

posted a time lapse video to participate a victim of ronald donald and super size me filmmaker morgan spur lock. >> this guy takes bags of mcdonald's fast food ketchup and makes art with french fries and ketchup. >> within a week it receives more than one million hits. >> quite shocking. i knew there were viral videos, but never dithink i was ever going to create one.

plus, a little boy's trip to the dentist -- >> do i have stitches? >> yes. >> on my teeth? >> yeah. don't touch it. >> -- leaves viewers in stitches. >> don't. and a baby's bite goes viral. >> ow. ouch, charlie. >> when "caught on camera: viral video - millions served" returns.

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hey, it's fred. >> wait!

rewind. who is that? >> hey, it's fred. >> who or what is fred? >> fred is -- i think he might be the number one subscribed channel on youtube or close to it. >> close to it is right. previously in first place, the fred channel moved to the second most subscribed channel on youtube in 2009 with more than one million subscribers. >> oh, my god! >> fred is sort of an internet phenomenon. >> but with a following that size, who are the brains behind the operation? comedy sketch group in new york? >> oh, yeah, yeah. >> a major entertainment company in hollywood? >> uh, no. >> how about a teenager in rural nebraska? >> oh, my god! it's cold! >> if you guessed the teen, you're right. fred is the brainchild of a 16-year-old boy named lucas cruikshank. the fourth of eight kids, lucas has been coming up with funny characters as long as he can remember. >> i was always like making

random characters and sketch videos with my family with my mom's camera. >> but after receiving a camera of his own at 13, lucas unknowingly took his sketch comedy videos over to a whole new level. >> like i had two cousins over, and we started making just a bunch of random videos and posting them online, thinking nothing of it. i like to understand that people from all over the entire world can watch the videos. >> in october 2006 one of his videos featured a new fictional character, a hyperactive 6-year-old with a high-pitched voice named fred. lucas shoots, stars, and edits the video, and films it -- where else -- at his house. >> fred is a 6-year-old, and he's really random and crazy. his mom is an alcoholic. >> my mom's in rehab because of her problems. >> and his dad's in prison. he's never even met his dad. >> fred, unlike lucas, is so socially awkward that he has no friends, and with his shrill voice, he rambles on and on into the camera. >> whatever. >> when he's just in front of the camera, he's just all confident, and he'll say anything.

when he's actually like out with other kids, then he's like this awkward person, and he does like weird stuff that kids just like look at, and they're just like i don't want to be friends with someone who does that, you know. >> in fred's world, there are plenty of people to impress. you never see them, but you hear them. lucas voices them all. >> don't take off any of your clothes in front of that camera unless someone pays you. >> besides fred's alcoholic mother and absentee dad, there's fred's crush, judy. >> this is getting kind of stalkerish. oh, my god. >> no, no, judy. you can't come in. nooooo! >> there's fred's arch nemesis and judy's pseudo boyfriend kevin. >> let's go beat up fred inside the pool. >> no. do you want me to get the cat with rabies to bite you again? >> and then there's fred's trusty cat with rabies. and then there's a few kind neighborhood squirrels played by dogs. >> there's obviously the animals who are kind of fred's friends -- only friends. >> oh, i knew you would always be on my side. >> in each roughly 2 1/2-minute video, lucas's character fred deals with ordinary situations in the only way he knows how, by acting completely crazy. take a look at this video.

fred goes swimming. one of lucas's most popular, with more than 34 million hits. >> basically it's fred talking about this new big pool that he's received and then swimming in this pool that ends up not being as big as he at first said it would be. then he gets attacked by some sort of plastic shark. it's all very specific, yet out there. >> very silly, total slapstick humor, the kind of thing that my 4-year-old son finds hysterical. >> and then there's one of lucas's favorite videos, fred stalks judy. >> that was so much fun to film because there's like a little photo shoot, and that was so funny to see fred do, like him trying to look cool. >> how does lucas create fred's signature voice? >> fred's voice you could either do with like helium, which probably isn't safe to do. i speed up the video so it sounds more crazy and looks more crazy. i just thought it added a whole new element to the character. >> when lucas first realizes his little household hobby is being viewed by millions of people, he becomes a little anxious. >> it like really freaked me out. i felt all pressure to think of

ideas. and when i'd film, i was like all nervous. >> but the nerves don't last long, and lucas's fred videos continue to be wildly successful with their primary audience, tweens and teens. >> he'd just talk about texting and internet-y stuff, and i think it just really appeals to the younger generation. >> lucas's videos are so popular, that soon this teenage entrepreneur is approached by a licensing agent, and now fred dolls, shirts, and bags are being sold all over the country. >> it's so weird like walking into a store and seeing dolls made out of you. it's really weird. >> but just how successful is lucas? well, his "fred" videos have earned him enough money to go to college, but his mom says despite his fame, he's still lucas at home, a teenager who does his chores and picks up his younger siblings from school. besides staying tuned for the next season of "fred," fans can also look forward to the upcoming "fred" movie. >> the "fred" movie's going to be kind of different from the videos in a way that it's not just not going to be fred the whole entire time, and you'll

see all the other characters. and i won't be playing. there'll actually be other actors playing the other characters. >> and if you're older than 18 and scratching your head because you just don't get fred, maybe you're not supposed to. >> it depends what kind of comedies you like. some people like certain comedies and some don't. some think it stupid. some think it's awesome. i don't think about the audience. i think about the videos. >> thank you. thank you very much. coming up -- >> i feel -- >> a little boy's trip to the dentist has millions with their mouths open wide. >> is this going to be forever? and is that cat really playing the piano. >> she's doing two paws at a time. it's amazing. >> when "caught on camera: viral video - millions served" continues.

authorities in wisconsin are searching the home of the suspect in sunday's deadly

shooting at a sikh temple. seven people were kill and three others remain in critical condition. law enforcement is still unsure of the suspect's motive. officials at pocono raceway say one person is dead. nine others injured from a freak lightning strike in the parking lot after a race on sunday. it is unknown whether one or multiple lightning strikes occurred. let's get you back to our program. welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. it's one of those moments we dread, going to the dentist. that maybe why this next video resonates with so many people. millions of clicks made a little boy with a toothache a bite-size celebrity. when david devore buckles his son into his car seat on the way back from the dentist, he notices his 7-year-old son is acting pretty strange. >> is this real life? >> he was just being very crazy

acting. he was very loopy, kind of sliding down the seat and just seeing double and that sort of thing. >> that morning in may 2008 david junior had surgery to remove an extra tooth, and apparently the anesthesia had not yet worn off. >> i'm hungry. >> yeah, i know. how did it go? >> i didn't feel anything. >> yeah. it was pretty invasive surgery, so he had a strong sedative. >> with david junior strapped securely in his seat, his father decides to document the moment. he pools out his camera and begins taping in the parking lot. >> the original intent of the video was to record it because my wife couldn't be there. i just wanted to tape it to show her. >> david junior is extremely confused. so his father tries to reassure him. >> my main goal was to calm him down. >> do you feel good? >> and to not make him more

agitated. so i was trying, you know, with my voice -- >> now i have two fingers. >> good. >> oh. four fingers. >> four fingers? >> but david is completely out of it, and like most curious kids, his finger goes straight for his stitches. >> nah, nah, nah, don't put it -- don't put it in your mouth. >> head bobbing, david is disoriented. >> do you feel good? >> but tries to cope. >> i can't see anything. >> yes, you can. stay in your seat. [ screaming ] >> i think he was just trying to wake himself up, you know, to see if it was real. >> but those little hands keep going for the stitches. >> do i have stitches? >> uh-huh. >> do i have stitches? >> yes. >> on my teeth? >> yeah. don't touch it.

>> do i have stitches? don't put your finger in your mouth. >> don't. >> don't. don't do it. damnit. i want nothing more than to put my fingers in my mouth right now. >> why can't i touch it? >> because it will mess up the stitches. >> but when david can't shake his crazy nightmare, he becomes upset. >> i feel funny. why is this happening to me? >> it's okay, bud. it's just from the medicine, okay? >> is this going to be forever? >> no. no, it won't be forever. >> there's something about the sort of honesty of seeing a kid go through this process that most of us have experienced. we've all, you know, had some sort of medical procedure where you had to wake up from anesthesia and you're completely blown out of your mind. you don't even know what's going on. >> when david senior and his family watch the video, they love it so much that a few months later they post it on facebook. >> i got into facebook and

posted it and just got some good reaction from our family and friends and started to get more and more requests to see it. >> so david senior decides to put the video of his son on youtube, and in just one week the video receives a jaw-dropping 3 million hits. >> you know, you're just shocked, you know. not negative or positive, right? but you're just like, wow, so many people are reviewing it. >> and though some viewers love "david after dentist," others see it as poor taste. >> i feel funny. >> david senior and his family are invited to appear on the "today" show to discuss the video and the controversy surrounding it. >> and though some viewers love "david after dentist," others see it as poor taste. >> i feel funny. >> some people say, okay, this is funny, david and tessy. and others say, no, this is

exploitation. in fact, a writer of the "sun times" says videos of kids on the video cross the line. we expect parents to protect their children in situations where they cannot protect themselves, not exploit them. how do you feel about that? >> well, we certainly understand the reaction, that point of view, and as dedicated parents, we actually appreciate that. but this is an isolated incident. this was something that our family, you know, thought was okay. should i have posted it? why did i videotape it? you know, as a parent i understand because it is, you know, a child. and if we thought there was anything that was harming david or putting him in harm's way, we wouldn't do it. >> but despite some criticism, there have been some positive results. david senior has started a "david after dentist" t-shirt line, using those now famous quotes from his son. >> we have a graphic picture of david with that picture and that quote. >> and what does the star of the video think of all this? >> i take pictures with everybody that recognizes me. >> his favorite part of the video? not surprising to me, the part where he screams.

[ screaming ] >> of course, david junior doesn't remember much about his dentist visit. >> i remember my dad and this other lady carrying me out. i could barely see. my eyes were barely open. i was like dizzy. >> whether david loves the video or wishes he would go away, it's one he won't live down. >> is this going to be forever? >> on youtube, you bet it will. >> i think this video is like this generations, you know, naked baby pictures. >> why is this happening to me? >> but i don't think he'll be embarrassed by this one. i don't think he will. i think he'll enjoy it for a long time. halfway around the world two more kids hold the title for one of the most watched viral videos of all times. >> charlie bit me. >> this is one of my favorite viral videos of the last two

years. easily. >> spring 2007, england. howard, who prefers we don't use his last name, films his two young sons as they watch tv. >> i tend to get the camera out every now and then. i'll just take videos of them just doing what they do as children. >> 3 1/2-year-old harry is holding his 1-year-old brother charlie on his lap. >> charlie is just sitting on harry's lap, and for some reason -- >> using no force at all charlie pretends to bite harry's finger. thinking it's funny he sticks his finger in his mouth again. >> and all of a sudden charlie decides to clamp down and bite it. >> ow. charlie, that really hurt. >> just the reaction is sort of like the pause. >> ow. >> and charlie bit me, ouch. >> ow, charlie. >> ouch, charlie. >> it's just classic. >> he bit me really, really, really, really hard.

>> so his little brother is gnawing on his finger, and harry never makes a move to make him stop. >> it's very brave of harry not to retaliate. he didn't hurt charlie. he took it and realized that charlie really wasn't trying to hurt him. >> but charlie must have sensed his brother wasn't happy because he quickly opens his mouth and lets go. >> that really hurts. >> and that's when charlie starts laughing. >> all of a sudden the baby just goes -- like out of nowhere the kid is full on maniacal laugh about biting the kid's finger. >> he found it funny because either i was finding it funny or the whole experience made him laugh. >> howard, the first to witness what millions would come to see and love shows the video to his wife when she came home. >> i thought it was funny. we put it on our digital photo frame for a few weeks and we

showed it to friends and family when they visited. >> but howard wants to show the video to a few friends in the states, including the boys' godfather. his friends suggest uploading it to the internet. at first the video only receives a few hundred hits, but within a few months it begins to double almost daily, and howard's video soars off the charts when it reaches a million hits in 2007. >> we just can't imagine that kind of thing happening. >> and it's become a whopper. since its original posting, the video of a moment between his two sons sitting on their living room chair has earned more than 130 million hits. >> when millions of people start watching, there's something you can't really comprehend. i think it's so popular because it appeals to everybody. >> there's an innocence about it i think that people can really relate to, and i think there's a realness to it that everybody loves. plus, it's funny, let's face it. >> it's become so popular there are several spoofs. >> ouch, charlie, ouch, ouch.

>> harry and charlie may have one of the top viral videos of all time, but they'd better watch out for a new young star. in 2008 baby brother jasper joined the family, and he's already proving to be quite the biter. >> jasper seems to have taken onboard as well, and jasper now enjoys going around and biting people's fingers. coming up -- have you ever wondered how to do the moon walk? >> certain things aren't that hard if you know how to do that. >> that and cat on the keyboard. >> she brings up her left paw and begins playing with the other paw. i think that's remarkable. >> when "caught on camera: viral video - millions served" continues. i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle, but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads

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want to learn how to flirt? do a magic trick or skateboard like a pro?

well, now you can find all you need to know right in the comfort of your own home because a new phenomenon is taking the internet by storm. >> great, great stuff. >> viral videos, more informative than absurd. >> you might watch this video and learn a little something. >> they're how-to videos, and they can teach you how to do just about anything. >> how to carve a pumpkin. >> they're instructional and educational videos that can show you how to do something. you can find a video how to treat a mosquito bite or where to go on your next vacation. >> from tiling bathroom floors to curing gum disease, there are thousands of how-to videos to choose from. gregory believes how-to videos are so popular because they make things simple for people to learn. >> step one. >> text articles are great for learning how to do certain things, but a lot of people learn visually, and videos

sometimes explain things that you wouldn't be able to get out of an article. >> take skateboarding, for example. >> there's a skateboarder, and he's walking through the trick. one of the best parts is through the end it slows it down so you can see the full trick executed. >> daniel blackman, chief operating officer of "how cast" another how-to site, says even the mysterious art of flirting can be taught in a two-minute video. >> use these proven methods to charm and seduce. >> give him a bright smile. >> also picking up the cues to see if someone's flirting with you. >> someone who can't take their eyes off you is very intriguing. >> it's definitely told from a woman's perspective because i think a lot of these tips, if they were given to a guy, might be arrested. >> just keep it above the belt. >> if you're flirting with someone and their feet are pointed toward you or away, those are indications. there are all these subtle clues that you can use. >> happy hunting. >> daniel says the how-tos of making a how-to video follows a straightforward formula. >> don't look now, but you're

juggling. >> take this example this video on how to moonwalk. >> there's a short walk. >> unlike the hustle and the macarena, the moonwalk still has some real street cr he d. >> there are two things you will need. >> you will need a slippery floor, optional, socks. step one, find a floor good for sliding like hardwood or tile. >> usually punctuated by a tip. >> remember to apply pressure to whichever foot is raised. >> then we end with a little fact. >> michael jackson got the idea for the moonwalk from french mime marcel marseau. >> how do these how-to guys come up with these topics? >> a lot of it's demand-based on what's going on around the internet, our own usage, competitive analysis. we look for what people are searching for. what they're searching for online might be different than what they're viewing on television, so that becomes very important. >> world events like the death of pop legend michael jackson significantly impact what people search for on the web. after he died, "how to moonwalk"

earned more than a million hits. >> a newsworthy event happens, and there's something that was captures the zeitgeist of the moment. that can go viral. some some of the most how-to watched videos with more than a million hits are about simple things like how to pick a lock. >> locked yourself out of a house? before you call a locksmith, try this. >> or how to treat a mosquito bite. >> three, make a paste of baking soda and water. >> so think things become popular because they're practical and useful. there's going to be people who want to remodel or cook something, learn how to do a skateboard trick, so that information going to always be useful. >> and as long as there's a need to learn, how-to videos will be there. >> certain things aren't that hard if you know how to do them and you have clear concise information. it's all about achievement ultimately. i've figured out how to do something, and that makes me feel good.

coming up -- a clever cat can't keep her paws off the piano. >> we're like, oh, my, god, oh, my god. look at this. nora, what are you doing? >> a surprising inspiration for a symphony. when "caught on camera: viral video - millions served" returns.

just when you think you've seen everything, a cat plays the piano. >> she's actually playing a song. i think, what is she playing? "chopsticks" or something. >> she's doing it two paws at a time. it's amazing. >> say hello to nora. the 6-year-old gray bull's-eye tabby cat. besides eating, sleeping, and playing with toys, nora just so happens enjoying making music. >> she brings up her left paw and begins playing with the other paw.

i think that's remarkable. ♪ >> remarkable is right. nora's performances are posted all over the internet. she's so successful, her videos have received more than 20 million hits. >> i don't know when the cat party got elected, but the internet has embraced cats like nothing i've ever seen. >> it all begins in 2004. it begins when artist betsy alexander and her husband go to petsmart to buy food for their five cats. petsmart to buy food. >> all the cats were out playing, and nora was playing by herself. she was a kitten, and i immediately fell in love with her. >> betsy got very excited about her, wanted me to come see her, come and hold her, and i was very resistant to doing that. >> burnell doesn't want to add another cat to the family. >> i didn't want to get like really attached. >> but betsy is so smitten with

the kitten they decide to adopt her. a few days later when betsy and burnell came back to the shelter to collect her, they noticed something very different about her. >> she was by herself with a big index card that said "bossy." >> that's how they learned nora is not good with other cats. as a biter, she is always housed separately. betsy is sure this won't be an issue in her home. >> we have five full grown cats there. we'll show her her place. >> boy, is she wrong. nora takes charge of the other cats and turns the place whiskers over tail. >> nora was so disruptive in this household. for six months it sounded like we had a house of snakes living here. screaming, hissing, growling. it did not stop for six months. i was really starting to get worried. >> but after the sixth months things began to quiet down and

the other cats learned how to walk around the new boss of the house. >> nora would never be in the same room with them. they've basically learned to stay clear of her. >> she's a diva. she likes to just do her own thing and be left alone to do it. >> nora often retreats to the piano studio and watches betsy give piano lessons to her piano students. >> very obsessive from day one. she would go underneath the piano, dance on top of the circles, look over their sheet music while they were playing. >> and one night the passionate puss decides to take music-making into her own hands or paws. >> burnell and i were upstairs, and we heard this plink, plink, plink, plink. repeated notes like two together. >> to their shocking delight, nora's playing. >> we saw nora sitting at the

piano in perfect posture with both paws on the keys, alternating, reaching for black notes. she would play, you know, five or six notes, a little riff, and look over at us like, you know, how was that. >> we totally lost it. we were like, oh, my god, oh, my god. look at this. nora, what are you doing? >> betsy believes this is just an isolated incident, but for nora, this is just the beginning. >> she started playing every day and started doing it during the piano students' lessons. >> nora becomes a neighborhood hit. betsy also wants to show the performances to her niece in wyoming. some of her students suggest youtube. >> i said youtube, what's that? that's how out of it burnell and i are. the first day it has 71 hits. then it started. we didn't know what the term

"viral video" meant. the next thing you know, it's a million. >> nora's videos are so popular they come to the attention of a lithuanian composer. he created music for the chamber orchestra in lithuania for children. he wanted to do an orchestra piece that is based on nora's playing the riffs that she plays. >> and thus the catcerto is born. >> i think this is the first time that a concerto has been written for an animal. i think it only exists because of the internet. >> when posted on the internet, the catcerto receives more than 100, hits and in 2009 she wins

an aspca award for an honor. >> it's nice to see a cat succeed. >> they're creating t-shirts and calendars and books featuring nora. >> i'm going to write a positive life philosophy book. it's called "nora's piano life guide for how to make every day a catnip day." >> and they hope her music will continue to inspire people all over the world for years to come. >> she's like a little miracle that's actually happening. she has a lot of piano-playing years ahead of her, but even when that's over, those videos will live on. >> can you play some more? >> there's really no formula for creating a popular viral video. they can be caught on camera any time, anywhere. and as you've seen, they can star just about anyone. if you have a video you'd like to send to us, send them to our website. caught on camera.msnbc.com. co