Sharks! Slater! Pipeline! And more sharks!
Every year around this time, the people behind the screens of the websites you scroll through every day while you’re pretending to be working try and figure out what’s going to make you click next year. We peer at the analytics through squinted eyes half full of rummy eggnog, trying to establish some kind of link between the reader and what the reader likes. “Clickbait!” some people will shout. But what is the internet if not a vessel for clickbait? It is made for you to click on things that interest you, and we are merely here to serve. Whether it’s in-depth reporting or a ten-second viral hit, we want to give you what you want. So here, in order, are the top ten most viral videos of the whole year. Thanks for reading, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll be reading in 2020.
_______
1. Watch This Snowplow In Utah Get Sent Over a 300-Foot Cliff After Getting Clipped by a Semi:
Appreciate your snowplow drivers. They allow you to get where you want to go: namely, to shred pow. But life ain’t always easy for these road warriors. The snowplow driver above was sent careening over a 300-foot cliff after crossing two lanes of traffic in Utah’s Spanish Fork Canyon south of Park City near Provo.
2. Here’s a Perfect Example of What NOT to Do at Pipeline:
Landon McNamara comes from solid surfing stock. He grew up with Liam and Garrett pushing him into waves on the North Shore. Waves like Pipeline and Rocky Point were, quite literally, his playground. It’s not the easiest of playgrounds and it’s a place where a spot on the swing has to be earned, but that’s the way it is. So, when Landon recently paddled into a bomb feathering over second-reef, he was less than pleased to see someone else doing something strange on it. “This is why we have to regulate people out at Pipe,” he wrote on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
_______
3. Incredible Video of Shark Feeding Frenzy on 250-Pound Swordfish Interrupted by Grouper That Swallows Shark Whole:
A lot of crazy stuff happens in the ocean. Most of it, of course, we don’t see. But every now and then, thanks to the wonders of research, we’re afforded a view of something absolutely incredible. Case in point: a shark feeding frenzy on a swordfish, accented nicely by a sneaky grouper coming in for a shark steak.
_______
4. This Drone Footage of Great White Stalking Surfers in New South Wales Is Ultra Creepy:
For the record, we didn’t say this great white was stalking these surfers at Tuncurry Beach in New South Wales. The filmer did, who calls himself the Rogue Droner on YouTube. Regardless of whether or not the shark is stalking these surfers, the clarity of the footage is radical.
_______
5. Filmmaker Aaron Lieber May Have Inadvertently Filmed the Worst Trip Over-the-Falls Ever:
Going over the falls isn’t fun. But the experience when your local is a touch or two overhead pales in comparison to going over the falls during a set at Teahupo’o that looks like the entirety of the Pacific Ocean is trying to swallow every man, mother, and child whole.
_______
6. Two Basque Surfers Intentionally Burn a Visitor on This XL Wave; It Turns Into a Once-in-a-Lifetime Barrel:
Surfing’s golden rule is you don’t burn people. But then again, every surfer on the planet has justified breaking the golden rule once or twice. A righteous, well-deserved roasting, because we’ve all decided for ourselves at one point or another that the person closest to the peak didn’t actually wait to get there. And then all bets are off.
_______
7. Kelly Slater Knows What to Do When Someone Misses a Barrel at the Surf Ranch:
We’re willing to bet you’ve never seen anyone take off on a missed opportunity like this. Usually, when someone misses a wave in a crowded lineup, there’s plenty of scavengers ready to paddle in as soon as they see a surfer with inside position falter. In this case, there was only one scavenger. And that would be one Kelly Slater, with the slick Jet Ski start to tube ride after one of his guests misses a barrel opportunity. He leaves no pit unridden.
View this post on Instagram
_______
8. Surfline Cam Captures a Shark Catching a Seal in Its Jaws Mid-Air:
Welp, this is a little terrifying. If you happened to be wondering what the surf was doing in Del Mar, California, you may have tuned in to the Surfline cam and noticed two grey things pop out of the water in the distance, a splash, a brief moment of struggle, then back to calm. One surfer appeared to be paddling out, and on the beach, virtually everyone lounging in their chairs remained unphased. If they even noticed what was happening, that is.
_______
9. Watch This Bird Miraculously Escape the Clutches of Great White Shark:
In possibly the greatest escape we’ve ever seen, this bird escapes the clutches of a great white as onlookers cheer for its freedom.
_______
10. Watch Austin Keen’s No-Paddle Skim-Entry at Surf Ranch:
Professional skimboarder Austin Keen has become a bit of a wunderkind when it comes to taking the fundamental element of his sport – skimming out to a wave, and riding it – to new heights.
View this post on Instagram
