Some news to make you feel old: YouTube turns ten this month. The site that defined a generation’s procrastination, the video-sharing platform is “celebrating” the only way it knows how with a countdown of greatest hits – that means beauty how-tos, “Gangham Style” and cat videos. Released to the public in May 2005, YouTube’s assimilation into the mainstream has seen a Vevo coup, never-ending comment wars and even its own music awards ceremony. Nevertheless, a decade on and the video-sharing site is still an undisputed resource for gaining an insight into the more mind-alteringly strange corners of the human psyche. Here’s our selection of the videos that let you know you’re in that weird part of YouTube again: ft. Anja Rubik, David Lynch and that Russian kid dancing in the club who just can’t be bothered.

DAVID LYNCH'S WEATHER REPORTS 

Cult hero David Lynch turned meteorologist in the early 00s, posting daily weather reports from Los Angeles that he broadcasted on his personal website. Until June 2010, the weather report was also broadcast on his YouTube channel. With everything removed by Lynch in the years since, it’s lucky that certain savvy YouTubers have posted evidence of the absurd forecasts – including one with a Laura Dern guest appearance.

RUSSIAN KID DANCING IN CLUB CAN'T BE BOTHERED

Who is he? Why does he dance? A relic of the rave culture of 1990s Russia, this kid bringing it on the dancefloor has been a YouTube legend ever since a user unearthed the footage a couple of years ago. He just can’t be bothered.

CHLEB FT. ANJA RUBIK

Everybody’s favourite Polish supermodel abandoned her usual glossy image for a turn as a council estate honey in this video for Mister D’s “Chleb”. Released last year, it’s like an ultimate tribute to the weird side of YouTube as broadcast from the bedrooms of the post-Soviet states – maybe Rubik’s giant dachshund is a nod this legend and his animal menagerie.

AMERICAN REFLEXXX

This social experiment shows the darker side of smartphone-toting Spring Breakers America. Created by artists and cyberfemmes Signe Pierce and Alli Coates, their powerful short film plays out on the hallucinogenic neon-drenched streets of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There, Signe Pierce walks through a touristy boardwalk wearing stripper clothes and a reflective faceless mask. Without revealing the video’s events, the animalistic mob that increasingly surround the performance exposes the transphobic state of a nation to the point of grim climax.

BRENDAN JORDAN

YouTube has given new life to the genre of “Is that a news reporter? It’s my time!” Sometimes background antics can get you more than your 15 minutes, as in the case of Brendan Jordon, a Las Vegas teen who was caught vogueing hard in the background of a report at a local mall. He’s since gone on to star in an American Apparel campaign, and now uses his exposure to campaign against the bullying of LGBT youth.

WEBDRIVER TORSO

Surely the most prolific Deep YouTube user in the history of the site, Webdriver Torso’s obscure video output – with new videos every few minutes – became the Internet’s new favourite mystery ever since it was set up in September 2013. Conspiracy theories abounded as to what its near-identical videos of red and blue rectangles and harsh beeps could mean: alien contact, a post-Cold War number system and French spies were all floated as culprits (the latter due to the single, inexplicable video of the Eiffel Tower). In the end, it was nothing more than Google’s algorithmic system for testing video quality.

FEMALE MASKING

A viral GIF that showed you should always check the provenance of your new favourite meme, Emma Watson unmasking herself to reveal she’s Sofia Vergara horrified and delighted when it emerged last year. Turned out the idea was lifted from an entire YouTube subculture known as female masking – a form of cross-dressing in which hyperreal skin-tone breasts and mask casts are used to emulate the appearance of women.

DON'T HUG ME I'M SCARED

The musical animated puppet series that updated Sesame Street for your cynical adult years, Becky & Joe’s Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared series has inspired a cult following around the world. Featuring the puppets of your childhood ruminating on themes from time to creativity, the surreal videos never fail to take you by surprise with a sudden turn for the horrifying. Check out the video they made for us below, and their page over here.

UNBOXING REPLIES

“Unboxing”, where users narrate the (ever so slow) opening of their new sneaks, toys, or tech gadget, is one of the most popular YouTube genres out there. Even more bizarre, though, are the sub-genre of videos that depict the unwrapping of new reptiles. For an even gorier take on that, how about slicing open snake eggs as an alternative to boxfresh Nikes?

ASMR

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It basically means certain noises can make you feel tingly and strange all over. This is where YouTube and its helpful army of ASMR practitioners steps in: everything from whispering, scratching, page turning, even Bob Ross’s The Joy of Painting are potential triggers. User GentleWhispering is ASMR’s biggest star – here she is to explain the ropes of “3D Sound”.