Created in 1998 by art student Deidre LaCarte, The Hampster Dance is one of the earliest examples of a viral internet phenomenon. Originally a simple GeoCities page featuring rows of animated hamsters dancing to a sped-up loop of Roger Miller's 'Whistle Stop,' it became a global sensation long before the age of social media. The meme captures the innocent, chaotic, and repetitive humor of the early web. Today, users use the template to express nostalgia, infectious energy, or the feeling of having a song stuck in their head for decades.