Things That Went Viral Online In April (If You’re Chronically Online, You Probably Saw Them)

The internet is fun, weird, and endlessly entertaining—and that’s exactly why we can’t get enough of it. But it also moves fast. Blink, and the next big thing has already come and gone.

Thankfully, we at Bored Panda were paying attention all April long. We tracked what blew up, what got people talking, and what totally took over everyone’s feeds. And of course, we rounded up the biggest hits below for your scrolling pleasure.

If you missed out, here’s your chance to catch up. And if you’re chronically online like us, consider this your monthly recap. Enjoy!

No, don’t worry, we’re not assembling a team to take down an endangered animal.

But you know, uh, purely hypothetically, could one hundred unarmed, unspecified guys of average physical ability take down a roughly 500-pound animal with a bite twice as strong as a lion’s, and enough force to lift or throw 2,000 pounds?

That’s the question that sparked total internet chaos at the end of April, after one user on X confidently claimed they could do it with enough dedication.

As of now, the post has racked up nearly 300 million views and triggered a full-blown spiral of memes, reaction threads, and even expert commentary.

It’s not the first time this bizarre debate has surfaced. Its earliest known appearance seems to be a 2020 post by u/probablycashed on the subreddit r/whowouldwin. It also made a splash on TikTok in 2022, but nothing quite like the storm it’s causing now.

Some people are genuinely trying to strategize how the gorilla would need to be attacked or how many human casualties to expect. Even YouTuber MrBeast, famous for his over-the-top challenges, jokingly asked for volunteers to stage the battle.

So... what do actual experts think?

Tara Stoinski, president and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, told USA TODAY in an April 30 interview that “the numbers game really works in favor of the people.”

“[I think] in terms of kind of being able to prolong a battle that could eventually wear a gorilla out, and our, you know, our ability to really cooperate and coordinate, I think those two elements kind of work against a gorilla’s favor,” Stoinski said.

Meanwhile, Australian animal conservationist Robert Irwin pointed out that most gorillas don’t want to fight humans in the first place.

“The one thing that people aren’t really saying in this discussion… [gorillas] are pretty chill. If they don’t really have a reason, they kind of just do their thing [and won’t fight]. We don’t need to fight gorillas!” he said.

And honestly? He’s probably right. Let’s not bother these animals.

In a polar opposite to the gorilla-fighting discourse, TikTok came through to remind us what actually brings fulfillment. And no, it’s definitely not squaring up with wildlife.

Instead, the viral trend called “Almost forgot that this is the whole point” gently encourages people to notice the joy already around them. Users are filming moments that truly make them happy, usually set to an uplifting piano melody.

Unsurprisingly, “the point” tends to look pretty familiar. Travel, breathtaking views, playing sports, big meals shared with friends and family, and, of course, love. These videos are getting millions of views, and honestly, it makes sense.

Why do we need reminders like this in the first place?

Because we really do forget.

Experts call it hedonic adaptation—in other words, our tendency to get used to the good things in our lives. It’s something we’re wired to do.

According to Amie M. Gordon, Ph.D., a social psychologist at the University of Michigan whose work focuses on relationships and well-being, this kind of adjustment is pretty helpful when things go wrong.

“With time, we adapt to the bad experience and return to our baseline happiness,” she explained.

However, it also means that when circumstances improve, we grow familiar with them, and they stop feeling as special as they once did.

“At the beginning, a new gift, friend, or experience brings us a lot of pleasure and excitement. But then we quickly grow accustomed to the new thing and it no longer brings us quite the same pleasure it once did,” said Gordon.

Knowing how overwhelming social media can feel, this has honestly been one of the more refreshing things to go viral lately. Judging by the comments, I’m not the only one who felt that way.

So maybe give it a try yourself. It might help you realize there’s more to be grateful for than you thought.

Bordering on wholesome but undeniably weird sits another social media trend that went viral after ChatGPT introduced its image generation feature, which allows users to create all sorts of visuals or manipulate ones they already have.

Naturally, pet owners took it upon themselves to find out what their beloved cats would look like as actual humans. The results came in funny, silly, and occasionally a little questionable.

But while many were enjoying fluffy, AI-generated fun, not everyone was on board. Some started raising flags about whether this kind of AI use is really necessary, especially with the energy it eats up.

Each ChatGPT query is estimated to use about ten times more electricity than a typical Google search. According to the nonprofit research firm Electric Power Research Institute, a ChatGPT request uses 2.9 watt-hours, compared to about 0.3 watt-hours for a single Google query.

Business Energy UK crunched the numbers and estimated that ChatGPT may currently use around 39.98 million kilowatt-hours per day—enough to charge roughly eight million phones. Kind of a high price for some AI-generated giggles.

Besides the environmental cost, critics also say we should support real artists instead of using AI to copy their work.

Many creatives are particularly concerned about AIs being trained on their unique styles and fear it could eventually push them out of jobs entirely.

British illustrator Dave McKean, known for his work on Batman comics, Alice Cooper album covers, and Stephen King books, told the media:

“I’m under no illusion they’ll just get more and more able to replicate this stuff. Why would anyone pay me to illustrate anything if they can simply tell a computer to do it in my style?”

“AI could do amazing things in science, the study of weather patterns, virology—but it must be kept out of the creative arts,” he argued.

Where do you land on this whole AI situation?

Is making a human version of your cat just a silly experiment or a sign we’re getting too comfortable with machines doing everything for us? Tell us what you think.

Meanwhile, some commenters are still too afraid to try it… because they’re worried it’ll change how they look at their pets forever.

On another note, British singer Olly Murs’ recent weight loss transformation received some pretty wild reactions, but not for the reason you might expect.

One user on X ran a poll asking both men and women whether they found Olly’s before-and-after body more attractive. Surprisingly, more women voted for the before photo, which made many men stop in their tracks.

They couldn’t believe it and immediately entered crisis mode—surely this was a coordinated prank.

But women weren’t having it. They ratioed the replies into oblivion, with one viral comment joking that they were “begging” men to accept the truth: you don’t need to be shredded to be attractive. That quote tweet got over 300,000 likes compared to the original post’s 15,000.

The internet isn’t the only place backing that up.

A report from Dating.com found that nearly 75% of single women prefer the “dad bod,” meaning a body that’s not super toned or overly muscular.

A similar survey from Planet Fitness found that 78% of women believe men with dad bods are confident in their own skin. Almost half of them said a soft belly was basically the new six-pack. Meanwhile, 83% of mom said a little chub on their partner is something to be proud of.

Some women on X tried to explain the appeal in more detail. They described the dad bod as cozy, approachable, and perfect for cuddling. A super athlete, on the other hand, might seem like the kind of person who judges you for your calorie intake. Hard to compete with that kind of energy.

Now, for the record: I don’t love that we’re using someone’s real body transformation to publicly debate what’s hot and what’s not. Body shaming isn’t cool—from any direction.

But what this conversation really showed is that a lot of men don’t like it when women disagree with them. So maybe, just maybe, we could start by changing that.

Last, but definitely not least, is one more viral TikTok trend, and this one’s all about proving that the butterfly effect is very real.

People on the app have been sharing how they ended up where they are in life, and wondering how things might’ve turned out if one specific moment hadn’t happened.

One woman, for instance, said that if she had never been cheated on, she would’ve never met the love of her life, someone who appreciates her for who she is. A heartbreaking experience, but one with a pretty beautiful outcome.

It’s pretty amazing where life can take us, huh?

Well, here’s the kick. The trend got a bit of criticism, too. Some people felt that a lot of the examples don’t technically reference the actual butterfly effect. In fact, plenty of users who joined in were, according to TikTok commenters, kind of missing the point.

The butterfly effect is meant to describe how something small and seemingly unrelated can end up causing something big. Like the classic example: a butterfly flaps its wings and that sets off a tornado halfway around the world.

So if someone says, “the butterfly effect is crazy—what if I never met my best friend in high school and we didn’t have this amazing bond,” well... as some users have very strongly pointed out, that’s not exactly it. Since the event and outcome are directly connected, it’s not quite the same.

Now, something more like your mom choosing to grab coffee at a certain café one day, and that somehow leading to your entire existence? That’s more in line with the idea.

Okay, okay, fair criticism. But it still feels like people kind of get the core of it. At its heart, this trend is really just people reflecting on how unexpected life can be, and how some of their greatest joys came from moments that once felt like setbacks.

And really, who can argue with that?