YouTube searches for "fireworks" videos typically see a big spike each 4th of July in the United States (and a smaller one over New Years), but last week saw the biggest we've ever seen.
The culprit? A fireworks display "gone wrong" in San Diego, California, where the cities annual display -- meant to last close to 20 minutes -- was ignited and exploded all at once. Two of this past week's most-viewed videos globally are bystander videos of the beautiful accident. Over 30,000 fireworks-related videos were posted in the past week and the most popular footage was from the San Diego display, which so far been seen over 5 million times combined.
Below you can see a graph charting weekly U.S. search interest for the term "fireworks" that puts this year's spike in direct comparison with previous years'. (You'll notice an unexplained rise in searches in late 2010, for which Katy Perry is the likely culprit.)
San Diego's "Big Bay Boom 'Bust'", as it's being called, is now currently one of the most-viewed fireworks displays ever on YouTube. (The #1 fireworks video is from London's 2011 New Year's Eve celebration.)
You can see a collection of the videos from the San Diego display in the playlist below.
The culprit? A fireworks display "gone wrong" in San Diego, California, where the cities annual display -- meant to last close to 20 minutes -- was ignited and exploded all at once. Two of this past week's most-viewed videos globally are bystander videos of the beautiful accident. Over 30,000 fireworks-related videos were posted in the past week and the most popular footage was from the San Diego display, which so far been seen over 5 million times combined.
Below you can see a graph charting weekly U.S. search interest for the term "fireworks" that puts this year's spike in direct comparison with previous years'. (You'll notice an unexplained rise in searches in late 2010, for which Katy Perry is the likely culprit.)
San Diego's "Big Bay Boom 'Bust'", as it's being called, is now currently one of the most-viewed fireworks displays ever on YouTube. (The #1 fireworks video is from London's 2011 New Year's Eve celebration.)
You can see a collection of the videos from the San Diego display in the playlist below.
