# Webdriver Torso Webdriver Torso is a YouTube channel that quietly uploaded roughly 77,000 cryptic 11-second clips of red and blue rectangles set to electronic tones starting September 23, 2013. New uploads arrived every 20 seconds for eight months, sparking speculation about spy numbers stations, alien contact, and viral marketing until the BBC and The Guardian investigated in May 2014. ## Origin The YouTube account 'Webdriver Torso' was registered on March 7, 2013, but stayed dormant until the first batch of rectangle videos went live on September 23, 2013 at 14:45[1]. From that day the channel settled into an almost mechanical cadence of nearly 400 uploads every 24 hours, averaging a new clip roughly every 20 seconds, including Christmas Day[3]. No human has publicly claimed authorship of the account. The Daily Dot's Brendan O'Connor tried to reach the uploader in April 2014 and received no reply, and The Guardian reported the same silence a week later[2]. Selenium developer Patrick Lightbody, whose project shares the 'WebDriver' name, told the Daily Dot that his team had no connection to the videos and joked that the clips looked like 'trying to make contact with aliens'[3]. For this article the creator is treated as unknown; the origin video 'tmpFmwNPY' uploaded on September 23, 2013 remains the earliest confirmed post[8]. - **Platform:** YouTube - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2013 ## Overview Every Webdriver Torso upload follows a tight template: 10 still slides, each showing one red rectangle and one blue rectangle at randomized sizes and positions, paired with a computer-generated tone that shifts pitch between frames[1]. Clips run roughly 11 seconds, and nearly every one carries the caption 'aqua.flv' in the bottom-left corner, hinting at an internal file name rather than any human-authored title[2]. The shape placements, note pitches, and alphanumeric video titles all appear random, but the structure never varies across tens of thousands of clips[1]. Viewers who click through expecting a punchline find only more rectangles, which is part of why the account drew comparisons to cold-war shortwave broadcasts rather than to normal YouTube content[3]. Sample uploads such as the September 2013 video 'tmpFmwNPY'[8] and a later entry from the same series[9] make the repetition obvious at a glance. Two outliers break the pattern and keep the mystery alive. One titled '00014' is a five-second phone recording of the Eiffel Tower seen from a balcony, ending with a glimpse of the uploader's computer screen[5]. Another, '0.455442373793', was geoblocked to France, cost 1.99 euros to watch, and contained a clip of the Adult Swim cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Webdriver Torso? Webdriver Torso is a YouTube channel that uploaded roughly 77,000 cryptic 11-second clips of red and blue rectangles with electronic tones between September 2013 and May 2014[1]. ### Where did Webdriver Torso come from? The account was created on March 7, 2013, and began uploading on September 23, 2013; the real author never came forward to Daily Dot or Guardian reporters[2]. ### What does Webdriver Torso mean? The name likely references Selenium's WebDriver automation tool, though Selenium developer Patrick Lightbody told the Daily Dot his team had no connection to the uploads[3]. ### How do you use Webdriver Torso? People reference it as internet shorthand for unexplained bulk automation online, often citing it alongside Cicada 3301 and shortwave numbers stations when debating whether cryptic content is a puzzle, a spy signal, or routine machine output[6]. ### Is Webdriver Torso still popular? Fresh uploads stopped in 2014 after about eight months of activity, but the channel is still cited as a classic internet mystery in retrospectives by the BBC and The Guardian[1]. ### How many videos did Webdriver Torso upload? The channel produced close to 77,000 clips by May 2014, totalling around 236 hours of footage, with new uploads arriving every 20 seconds or so[1]. ### Are there any Webdriver Torso videos that break the pattern? Two outliers exist: a five-second Eiffel Tower balcony clip titled '00014', and a France-only paid video featuring the Adult Swim cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force[5]. ### Why did people think it was a numbers station? BoingBoing's Enkidu argued the random rectangles and tones mirrored shortwave numbers stations, which once transmitted encrypted one-time-pad messages to spies[6]. ### What does 'aqua.flv' mean in the videos? Every standard upload carries the caption 'aqua.flv' in the bottom-left corner, suggesting an internal filename baked into whatever tool renders the slides, though the uploader never explained it[2]. ### Did Selenium make the Webdriver Torso videos? No. Selenium developer Patrick Lightbody denied any link to the account when contacted by the Daily Dot, even though the channel shares the WebDriver name[7]. ## References 1. [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27238332]() 2. [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2014/may/01/truth-youtube-mysterious-videos-webdriver-torso]() 3. [https://www.dailydot.com/geek/youtube-webdriver-torso/]() 4. [https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-02/07/sir-fedora-inspires-youtube-explorers]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/webdriver-torso]() 6. [https://boingboing.net/2014/04/25/the-numbers-station-of-you.html]() 7. [https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/mysterious-youtube-videos/]() 8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWTBKUiImh0]() 9. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQm-LbSJarQ]() 10. [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsLiV4WJfkTEHH0b9PmRklw]() 11. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_Teen_Hunger_Force]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/webdriver-torso Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library