The World Record Egg’s Experiment in Virality

Every day, 95 million Instagram posts are made. January 4th of 2019 wasn’t so different until an outlier separated themselves from everyone else. Up until then, Kylie Jenner held the most-liked Instagram post with a whopping 18 million hearts. On this day, however, new Instagram royalty would emerge. Titled World Record Egg (@world_record_egg), a simple Instagram post would shack the internet. 

Today, World Record Egg (also known as “Eugene”) has reached nearly 55 million likes on an individual picture. For 55 million likes, you’re probably wondering what was posted. 

Depicted in Eugene’s post is a typical bird egg in front of a white background. Yes, that’s all it was. Interestingly enough, the post caught fire. Humored at the triviality of having a picture of some random egg be the most liked post on Instagram, the trend caught fire. As of now, they’ve tripled Kylie’s original record and given the internet a good laugh. 

Eugene has received recognition from international news media as a successful experiment in virality and shows that the internet may not be as divided as we think. Despite our differences, 55 million people uniformly came together to get a picture of an egg to the top of Instagram, and that is a communal effort that deserves recognition. 

So, where are they now? Behind Eugene is an advertising worker named Chris Godfrey. Initially, he posted the picture to see if “something as universal and simple as an egg” could earn large-scale virality. Upon doing so, Godfrey has leveraged his platform for good. Rebranding the egg as a personality coined “Eugene,” he advocates for mental health awareness. 

With nearly 6 million followers, Godfrey uses Eugene to provide what he describes as “positivity with a dose of realism.” Godfrey’s content works to acknowledge the mental struggles that we all encounter and use the egg to bring light to those situations. 

Utilizing the metaphor of an egg cracking, Godfrey first branded Eugene with a post depicting text about buckling under social pressure. From there, the “World Record Egg” became Eugene, a cartoon egg with a lot on his mind. Godfrey’s genius has had a positive impact on millions across the world, as he’s turned a viral trend into a safe community for those who need it. 

Through short animated skits and graphics, Godfrey uses Eugene to showcase the encounters with mental health issues that we all struggle with, namely anxiety. His comics and videos provide a refreshing dose of relatability and remind us that everyone is fighting some form of battle with ourselves.

Overall, Godfrey’s creation managed to break a world record, as well as the stigma on mental health. While many saw 55 million likes, Godfrey saw 55 million people he could connect with, a truly admirable feat.