Webdriver Torso

About

Webdriver Torso is a YouTube channel that hosts a series of cryptic slideshow videos depicting a red and a blue rectangle in random arrangements with electronic tones. Since its creation on March 7th, 2013, the channel has garnered much online attention due to its enigmatic nature, in similar vein to other mystery projects like the Pronunciation Manual and Cicada 3301. As of May 2014, more than 77,000 videos have been uploaded to the channel.

Origin

The account was created on March 7th, 2013, but the first batch of videos weren't uploaded until September 23rd. From that day, the channel^[1] has uploaded nearly 400 videos each day, averaging one upload every 20 seconds.

The bulk majority of the videos adhere to the following format:

• Each video features 10 slides spanning over 11 seconds
• Each slide contains a red rectangle and a blue rectangle
• Each slide is accompanied by a unique pitch tone
• Each slide is numbered and has an "aqua.flv" watermark

Spread

Since then, a number of theories and speculations have emerged online, with some suspecting that it is a viral marketing campaign or a puzzle, similar to the Cicada 3301 mystery, while others have speculated that it may be for black ops or alien communication. None of these theories have been proven.

News Media Coverage

On February 7th, 2014, Wired^[10] highlighted the channel in an article about underexposed videos on YouTube, though little explanation was provided on the nature of the videos. On April 23rd, The Daily Dot^[8] reported on the mysterious YouTube channel, speculating that the videos may have been created with Selenium, a set of tools for automating web-based tasks, using one of the tools named "WebDriver." On April 25th, BoingBoing^[9] compared the channel to the "numbers stations" of the Cold War era. In early May, the story was picked up by BBC^[2] and The Guardian^[3] as well.

Unusual Videos

Aside from the majority of videos that follow the said pattern, there are two anomalous videos that have been uploaded. The very first one is called 0.455442373793., which is only accessible in France and requires a payment of 1.99 euro to watch.^[2] The video features the American adult cartoon Aqua Teen Force^[5].

The other video, titled "00014" and five seconds long, features the balcony view of the French monument Eiffel Tower. After few seconds of the recording, uploader put downs his/her camera and a few frames of its computer screen can be seen at the end of the video.

Search Interest

External References