Far from innocent fun, Mr. Moe suggests these clips depict cruelty towards an animal so helpless it actually uses sleep as a defense mechanism. That's right, when faced with a predator's attack the last thought of a loris may be "guess I'll just grab a quick nap during the gruesome parts."
These videos were viewed on YouTube more than 6 million times by people around the world. If they were like me they laughed -- laughed and shared these videos with their friends so they too could laugh. Amidst all this laughter only one man thought to stop laughing, start investigating, and only after he revealed the truth resume laughing, probably about something completely different.
Mr. Moe's selfless act inspired me to take a new look at the other YouTube videos that make us laugh, and what I discovered was shocking.
One popular video making the rounds called Twin Baby Boys Having a Conversation shows us two infants standing in a kitchen. At first glance their smiles and playful chatter make it seem like this is simply an adorable moment caught on home video.
As I watched the boys my mouth unwittingly curled into a smile and I struggled to stop a laugh from escaping my throat. I managed to mask it by faking a hacking cough I first developed back when I still secondhand smoked. Now scared to trust my own instincts on humor I contacted Dr. Helena Katerschmidt, an expert on child development at the Trottings Institute, for her take on this video. She confirmed my fears.
Dr. Katerschmidt immediately pointed out that neither of the boys were wearing clothes, a normal covering used by human children. Clothing is worn by babies to regulate body temperature and provide protection from the elements. These children are otherwise vulnerable because they are cannot grow fur or operate textile manufacturing equipment on their own.
"Without clothing a baby might also be subjected to ridicule by other children or adults," said Dr. Katerschmidt. "This can stunt their social development, cause behavioral problems, or even lead to a reality TV series."
Another area of concern was the boys' speech. Upon closer examination the twins did not seem to be speaking English or any other recognizable language. Dr. Katerschmidt reported seeing similar behavior among prisoners of war, where they often developed secret systems of communication to combat eavesdropping by their captors. "The happy demeanor of the boys may just be part of the deception," she said. "They could actually be discussing very grave subjects, such as what fate had befallen their triplet brother."
However the biggest threat may not be to the boys in this video but to all the other babies of the world. "People watch a funny two minute video and immediately want to run out and get a child of their own," reported Dr. Katerschmidt. Raising a child is a serious commitment and one that should not be taken lightly, despite what popular baby name books would otherwise indicate.
Even with proper care and attention a child may never provide the entertainment a parent so desperately seeks. "The popularity of this video seems to support the theory that the world is filled with ugly, talentless babies that people just need a break from," Dr. Katerschmidt said. She cautions that it often takes months of intense supervision and a lot of luck before you even see a child do something worth writing about on Twitter.
Whether YouTube will review their policy about hosting this type of video is not yet known. But each of us can take action today and make our own choices about what we watch. Are you willing to look your friend in the eyes when they try to show you the hilarious video of bees attacking El Salvadorian soccer players and say "no"? If not, are you willing to look the bees in their eyes?
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