Must-see videos and other time-wasters "go viral" on the Internet all the time. They come from all over the world, but some originated in the Twin Cities, the most recent examples being Tay Zonday and Billiam the Snowman on YouTube.

Heck, you could even count that ubiquitous video-sharing site, which is the new viral breeding ground, because it was co-founded by Jawed Karim, who grew up in St. Paul.

Here's a look at some.

MONOFACE

What it is: Minneapolis-based creative agency Mono wanted to send a New Year's greeting to its clients, so it created a Web-based application called Monoface. Click on the head, mouth, nose or either eye of the computerized visage and it seamlessly rotates among the features of the firm's 15 employees. The facial combinations, 759,375 of them, can be truly bizarre and funny -- a great time-waster.

First posted: Jan. 1.

Going viral: Word spread quickly via bookmark-sharing sites such as StumbleUpon and del.icio.us.

Total views: In Monoface's first three days online, the surge in traffic to the agency's website shut down its servers, says Mono co-founder Jim Scott. The website received 1.8 million hits in the first three months of Monoface vs. 2,500 in the same period of 2006.

Aftermath: Accolades for Monoface have included a Silver Cyber Lion award at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France, and a Webby nomination -- and lots of publicity for the agency.

www.mono-1.com/monoface

TAY ZONDAY'S "CHOCOLATE RAIN"

What it is: He looks like Urkel, but sounds like James Earl Jones, observers say. That's Tay Zonday. The creation of University of Minnesota grad student Adam Bahner, the unlikely vocalist scored with a YouTube video for his song "Chocolate Rain," hilariously highlighted by his off-mike gasps for air. He has done other songs, but "Chocolate Rain" has attained a life of its own, Bahner says.

First posted: April 22.

Going viral: The video festered for a few months before taking off in July and becoming the YouTube download of the summer.

Total views: More than 8.3 million at last count.

Aftermath: Parodies and remixes of "Chocolate Rain" have featured Darth Vader, McGruff the Crime Dog and others. Media appearances by Bahner were capped by his August performance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" He will open for Dan Deacon and Girl Talk at Minneapolis' First Avenue on Oct. 5.

www.youtube.com/tayzonday

BMW'S "THE HIRE"

What it is: BMW's online film series, created for the German automaker by Minneapolis ad agency Fallon Worldwide, went viral before that term was even used. "The Hire" ruled online video years before YouTube was created. The eight eight-minute films, produced in 2001 and 2002, starred Clive Owen as the Driver and featured top stars such as Madonna and Forest Whitaker and high-profile directors such as Ang Lee, Jon Woo and Guy Ritchie. The goal was to show BMW cars in action using performance footage that was "too hot for TV," says John Blackburn, who was part of the Fallon creative team.

First posted: April 26, 2001.

Going viral: Buzz was strong from the get-go, thanks to the people involved and the online-only aspect of the campaign.

Total views: By the time BMW retired its site for "The Hire" in 2005, the films had been viewed 93 million times, according to the British trade publication Campaign.

Aftermath: The films brought global acclaim for BMW and Fallon, which eventually parted ways. DVDs of the films became a hot commodity among collectors. Although "The Hire" is officially retired, it continues to circulate online via YouTube and other sites.

www.startribune.com/a3283

"DRUNK SQUIRREL"

What it is: Shad and Anna Petosky returned to their home in north Minneapolis last autumn to find a squirrel eating out of the jack-o'-lanterns left on their porch from Halloween. The pumpkins had fermented. The squirrel was plastered. "Instead of fleeing as we approached the stairs, he started trying to climb the house and flipped and rolled around," Shad Petosky recalls. So he got out his video camera. The resulting two-minute clip shows the clobbered critter trying to climb a tree and staggering around on the pavement.

First posted: Nov. 18.

Total views: About 3 million.

Going viral: Someone pilfered the clip and reposted it on Break.com, where it won a $400 prize. Then it was featured on Digg and spread.

Aftermath: TV reports on the clip included Fox News, CNN and Country Music Television, earning the Petoskys $1,650 in licensing fees. Break.com righted a wrong and gave them their rightful $400 won by the clip.

www.startribune.com/a3284

BILLIAM THE SNOWMAN

What it is: Minneapolis brothers Nathan and Greg Hamel wanted to do something different for the July 23 Democratic presidential debate, in which the questions were posed via videos on YouTube. Other clips featured talking heads; theirs appropriated a previously animated creation, Billiam the Snowman, who began by saying, "I've been growing concerned that global warming, the single most important issue to snowmen of this country, is being neglected."

First posted: July 19.

Going viral: The clip was hailed as the highlight of a dry debate in story after story, including in the Wall Street Journal and on CNN.

Total views: About 200,000 for the initial clip and followups -- "not bad considering that politics does not play on YouTube," Nathan Hamel says.

Aftermath: Republican candidate Mitt Romney publicly criticized the media attention received by Billiam, prompting a YouTube reply from the indignant snowman. The Hamels are selling Billiam merchandise on www.CafePress.com and are in talks to do more clips using Billiam as the spokes-snowman for global warming.

www.youtube.com/kotasHQ

TIM FORT'S KINETIC ART

What it is: Inver Grove Heights artist Tim Fort sets art in motion with his fascinating displays of falling dominoes and bursting stick bombs -- unless he's getting paid, when the latter are called "xylo-explosive devices," he jokes. To show his various kinetic-art techniques, he created a six-minute video montage through a grant from the town of New York Mills, Minn., and posted the clip online. Although cleverly edited to look like one giant creation, the video actually shows smaller structures built over the course of two weeks in a 20- by 30-foot room.

First posted: June 23, 2006.

Going viral: The video took off about a year ago, when it was featured by Minnesota Stories and Yahoo.

Total views: About 2 million via YouTube, Yahoo, the Internet Archive and elsewhere.

Aftermath: Fort has been tapped for many public exhibitions of his work and recently created a kinetic-art display for a Belgian TV commercial.

www.startribune.com/a3291