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BBC: Horse-Boy Google Street View Web Gimmick Is Important News

by Matthew Zuras on June 26, 2010 at 09:00 AM

Who is Horse-Boy? Internet mystery! You can debate your iamwhoiams all night, but Horse-Boy is a true conundrum. How do we know? Why, the BBC told us so.

Britain's biggest news organization is baffled by Horse-Boy, a shadowy figure dressed in what could only be described as a perplexingly purple button-down shirt, who has a horse's head in his human head's place, and has made surprise appearances on Google Street View in Aberdeen. Is it just a man in a mask? We're not sure, since the BBC found one intrepid commentator who casts doubt on Horse-Boy's humanity: "Horse boy isn't a person," says Gareth Remblance. "It's a cheap mask." Dear God, horse masks have come to life in Scotland.

And then, the BBC throws another enigma into this equine pot of mystery. People have seen Horse-Boy, like, in real life -- and "dozens of BBC news website users have e-mailed from across Europe to say they know who Horse-Boy is." There have been even more sightings throughout the U.K. and the continent. But the BBC doesn't know who Horse-Boy is, or if he is only one replication of many. Stop the effing presses!

To its credit, the BBC notes, "Other readers have not been impressed with the story and some have told the website that it is not newsworthy and is a prank to generate further publicity." But who cares about the readers? That sure doesn't get in the way of the BBC's editorial standards.Where can we get more important and breaking Horse-Boy news? (Why, you could probably make your own if you could find a similar looking mas... oh, here it is.) What do Horse-Boy sightings mean for your weekend? Does this portend the Four Horse-Boys of the Apocalypse? Linkbait! SEO-friendly headlines!

We guess it's just been a slow news week. In less important news, Britain just got hit with its own mini oil spill. [From: BBC and Google Street View]

Tags: gimmick, google, GoogleStreetView, horse-boy, journalism, memes, top, viral

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