What Is The 'Russian Homunculus Video' That Was Referenced In 'Smiling Friends'? The Bizarre Viral Video Series Explained

There are a lot of bizarre and hard-to-explain videos to be found on YouTube and some of the most popular come from a series of uploads known as the Russian Homunculus Videos. This series of 22 videos, uploaded by Как Сделать between 2015 and 2018, show the purported experiments of a man who claims to be trying to create a homunculus.

Now, these videos have been referenced in the Adult Swim series Smiling Friends. But are they real? Here's what you need to know.

What Is The 'Russian Homunculus Video' Series?

Back in November 2015, Russian YouTuber Как Сделать, which translates to "How to Make…," posted a video titled "How to make a homunculus." The video is a very realistic, yet fake, tutorial on how to make a homunculus by injecting an egg with human DNA and leaving it in the dark for 10 days. For those who aren't aware, a homunculus is a tiny, fully formed human that grants certain supernatural powers and is said to be made with alchemy. The idea was popularized in the 16th century, but again, is not true.

The video gained a whopping 20 million views and was followed by about 21 other videos in which the YouTuber tries and fails and eventually succeeds in creating and raising a homunculus. The last video was uploaded in 2018, with the channel's creator, a Russian actor, purportedly dying that year of a thromboembolism. His legacy lives on in the videos, though, most of which boast millions of views and are still confusing and shocking people to this day.

How Is The 'Russian Homunculus Video' Used In Memes?

Ever since the first video was uploaded, the Russian homunculus videos have become one of the more widespread examples of the "weird side of YouTube." They've inspired debunking videos, in which people go to painstaking lengths to prove the videos false. They've also inspired a few memes and videos essays over the past few years as they continue to fascinate viewers.

Most recently, the hit animated series Smiling Friends referenced one of the homunculus videos in their June 2nd, 2024 episode "Brother's Egg." Specifically, the show references the second homunculus video, in which the YouTuber makes a failed homunculus that spits acid on him, inciting him to crush the homunculus with a book. Clearly, the show's creator has a fascination with this video, as he also previously talked about it in a 2018 Oney Plays video.

For the full history of the "Russian Homunculus Videos," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.