DAILY DIRT: The No. 1 all-time YouTube music video surprised at least one person

Music videos aside, what about all those kangaroos? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 857 of The Daily Dirt.

1. I had always wondered what the most popular YouTube music videos might be, but had never really looked into it until a few days ago.

My first thought when piecing together the information was, “Hmm … I guess everyone does not automatically go to ‘Mixed Emotions’ by the Rolling Stones or ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’ by Rod Stewart”. 

The No. 1 song was, at least to me, a real shocker — “Numb” by Linkin Park, a band that was formed in 1996 but has been on hiatus for close to four years following the suicide death of vocalist Chester Bennington. Categorized as alternative rock, Linkin Park’s earlier music spanned a fusion of heavy metal and hip hop, while its later releases featured more “electronica” and pop elements.

More than a year ago, the band revealed it was neither working on new music nor planning on touring in the foreseeable future. Linkin Park has only released 20th-anniversary editions of its first two studio albums since Bennington’s death.

Here’s the rest of the top 10 most popular YouTube music videos, and please notice those numbers of views are in BILLIONS:

• 1. “Numb,” by Linkin Park: 2.10 billion views.
• 2. “November Rain,” by Guns ‘N’ Roses, 2.09 billion views.
• 3. “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” by Nirvana: 1.75 billion views.
• 4. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” by Queen: 1.70 billion views.
• 5. “What’s Up,” by 4 Non-Blondes: 1.68 billion views.
• 6. “In The End,” by Linkin Park: 1.64 billion views.
• 7. “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” by Guns ‘N’ Roses: 1.59 billion views.
• 8. “Do I Wanna Know,” by Arctuic Monkeys: 1.58 billion views.
• 9. “Zombie,” by the Cranberries: 1.49 billion views.
• 10. “Thunderstruck,” by AC/DC: 1.35 billion views.

2. Here’s something to think about.

The population of Australia is roughly 26 million, but there are 50 million kangaroos in the country. Fifty million!

3. Here’s our final tip o’ the hat this weekend to Chuck Norris, arguably the greatest human being in the history of the world:

• Chuck Norris once uppercut a horse. Now they’re called giraffes.
• Chuck Norris once did not go to work for two days. That is now known as the weekend.
• Chuck Norris has a bear rug in his living room. The bear is still alive, it’s just afraid to move.
• Chuck Norris can hear sign language.
• Once when skydiving, Chuck Norris’s parachute did not open. He took it back for a refund.
• Chuck Norris did not call the wrong number. You answered the wrong phone.
• Chuck Norris never flushes the toilet. He scares the crap out of it.
• Chuck Norris can make sticks by rubbing two fires together.
• Chuck Norris once woke up an hour late. Now we we have Daylight Savings Time.
• When Mark Zuckerburg invented Facebook, he already had a pending friend request from Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris has a diary. It’s called the Guinness Book of World Records.
• Sharks get a warning when Chuck Norris is on the beach.
• If Chuck Norris gives you a wrong answer, you asked the wrong question.
• Chuck Norris can build a snowman out of rain.
• Chuck Norris knows Victoria’s secret.
• When Google employees have a question, they ask Chuck Norris.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – Chuck Norris may be great and all that, but has he ever dated Taylor Swift?

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. I hope he asked Chuck Norris for permission to write about him.