While some memes come and go, others stick around in internet history. One of those is David After Dentist, a 2008 video of a seven-year-old questioning his own reality after his anesthesia-fueled visit to the dentist.
David is now 20 and studying computer science, and he's auctioning that original video as an NFT.
You Can Buy David After Dentist
You might think that you can watch David After Dentist for free on YouTube. And you'd be right. Over 140 million people have seen it.
But have you really seen something unless you own it as an NFT? You can lay claim to a "1/1 authenticated NFT [that] is unedited and offered at auction by David and his family" on Foundation.
The video is provided in MP4 format at 640x640 pixels.
NFT stands for non-fungible token and is a digital asset that sits on the blockchain. It can be traded, but it's unique and cannot be divided.
At the time of writing, the current bid sits at 3 ETH, which equates to nearly $10,600. That's not quite the $500,000 that Disaster Girl made by selling her meme.
The auction is running for 24 hours, though could be extended for late bids.
In a video announcing the launch, David says that this is the "first" auction, teasing that we can excitedly look forward to many more. Perhaps a partnership with Elon Musk, the king of techno NFT songs? Or maybe a modern day remake? The money making possibilities are endless.
Why Is David After Dentist an NFT?
In an interview with The Verge, David DeVore's father claims the response to the NFT has mostly been positive because people want to see the original content creators be rewarded. He's glad that he was able to retain control over his video.
He said:
It kind of feels like 2009 all over again. NFTs are like the wild west right now, it’s like back when we went viral and social media was in its infancy.
In a 2010 interview with Insider, DeVore said that the family had accumulated close to $150,000 as a result of the video. Most of that came from YouTube, while around $50,000 came from licensing and merchandise.
While it doesn't look like the NFT is going to add much to that pot right now, there's still time for it to shoot up. Whether this is a good use of anyone's money remains a separate issue.