'Gangnam Style' had more views than YouTube could count: Site had to 'upgrade' how digits are displayed to show song's popularity
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It was the South Korean pop song that took the world by storm in 2012 and was so catchy that you're probably still humming it.
Now YouTube has admitted that Psy's smash hit 'Gangnam Style' has been viewed so many times since it was uploaded in July 2012 that it must upgrade the way figures are shown on its website.
Because the video has been watched so many times, there is no space for commas to break up the number of views.
YouTube has admitted that Psy's smash hit 'Gangnam Style' has been viewed so many times that it has to upgrade the way figures are shown on the website. A screenshot is pictured
'We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer (=2,147,483,647 views), but that was before we met PSY. "Gangnam Style" has been viewed so many times we have to upgrade!' Google said in a blog post.
The number is more than YouTube is coded to display, based on a 32-integer system so it has fixed the problem by allowing 64-but integers and adding an animation.
'Hover over the counter in PSY's video to see a little math magic and stay tuned for bigger and bigger numbers on YouTube,' the blog post said.
At the time of writing, '2152218058' people had watched the music video with its distinctive horse-like dance.
At the time of writing, '2152218058' people have watched the music video with its distinctive horsey dance. The number was displayed after digits spun around (screenshot) when the mouse hovered over them
The number was displayed after digits spun around like a fruit machine when the mouse hovered over them.
Gangnam Style has repeatedly smashed viewing records, becoming the first video to pass two billion views in May, Fuse reported.
Three months after the video was released, one internet expert estimated that YouTube made a $51,925 profit from merely hosting the video to gain a slice of advertising revenue.
It is not clear how much the video has made the company in total, but it's estimated that Psy has bagged over £2 million from online advertising.
Web engineer Amar Pradhu, who is not affiliated with the Silicon Valley-based search giant, made the estimate on Quora, the question-and-answer website.
In May last year, Psy told students at Harvard University in Massachusetts that the success of his video online was accidental.
'Gangnam was not standard – that was an accident and accidents don't happen often,' NME reported.
He went on to tell students at Oxford University that he 'stayed up for 30 nights to find that horse-riding dance,' which features in the video.
Put the internet to work for you.
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