Social media doesn’t seem to be slowing down and proof can be found all over the web. Video hosting and blogging platforms, status updates and location-based networking are broadcast mediums that have increased in usage in 2011. I’m not sure what this all means to the ‘big picture’ and it may not take much brainwork to enjoy most social content, but a byproduct of our love to interact online is a plethora of strange, fascinating, scary and funny moments all caught on tape, uploaded and spread around in a web faster than a honey badger can bite the head off of a cobra.

Content creators and the people who share links are speaking to the world and what they are saying is more authentic than anything produced in a television newscast, or on reality programming. The raw moments committed to the Internet have more of an emotional impact than any well-scripted big-budget film or over-rehearsed political speech. Video sharing is the most pure form of expression through media and the following five videos, from 2011, are reflections of real life … doing something hilarious!

Bert the Cat vs. a Cat Balloon!

Putting video of your feline friend doing something awkward online is nothing new and can certainly be a played-out submeme of the Internet, but when trolling a cat goes wrong it’s a special kind of joy we feel. Bert, the husky, cat doesn’t like to be messed with and if you’re going to freak him out with a toy make sure it’s one that has a good defense mechanism. All you’ve done is boost old Bert’s confidence!

What?! You’ve Never Seen a Guy Ride a Beer Case at 50 MPH?!

Straight off the streets of Germany comes the most creative use of alcohol and operating heavy machinery. The shirtless beer lover in this video has built himself a mini car and wrapped it in a beer case to express love for his favourite hops flavoured beverage. Crazy? He might be, but innovative is the best word to describe him.

You’re Not Gonna Be The Great Breakdancer You Think You Are!!

Setting up a camera to record practicing your art is a very common thing, but the true meaning of Comedy: Caught On Tape is when something hilarious unexpectedly happens. Here we have a wannabe breakdancer who is struggling more with support from his family than a lack of skill. His mother just doesn’t get that he is trying to get better at something he loves and she resorts to passive aggression and pseudo-racists remarks to get him off his path. It really is a recipe to the funniest of videos.

Ducks Just Out For a Walk Are Hit With a Mini-Tornado!

We all know that cuteness sells. Aesthetics are everywhere and certain images are universally charming. Small defenseless animals are probably most commonly pleasant and this clip starts with a family of ducklings following their mother, but it ends with them being scattered across a courtyard, flopping around like pancakes in the wind and it gives us all a shocking big laugh. When the reveal is that all birds are accounted for it warms our heart and we don’t feel bad for quacking up (sorry).

The Bigger They Are … The Worse They Are At Pole Dancing!

Let’s be honest. We all have guilty pleasures, but the most entertaining has to be watching drunken people hurt themselves doing something mildly homoerotic. Thankfully there was someone in this group of drunkards who had enough brain cells to operate a smartphone camera because watching a fat guy break a lamppost while trying to do a pole dance is one of 2011’s funniest moments of Comedy: Caught On Tape.

Michael.