''Double Rainbow'' was a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

filmed by Paul "Bear" Vasquez (September 5, 1962 – May 9, 2020). The clip, filmed in his front yard just outside

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

, in the U.S. state of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, shows his ecstatic reaction to a

double rainbow Double Rainbow may refer to: * Double rainbow, a variation of the meteorological phenomenon * Double Rainbow (ice cream), a brand of premium ice cream, sorbets, and frozen desserts Media * ''Double Rainbow'' (album), Aya Matsuura's sixth album * ...

. , Vasquez's video had accumulated more than 50 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Biography

Vasquez was a native of

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

, where he served as a Los Angeles County firefighter. After two years, he re-settled in

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

in 1985, eventually buying an plot. He was married with two children, before divorcing, becoming a truck driver, and participating in a single

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

bout. Vasquez lived in a mobile farm outside Mariposa, California, approximately from Yosemite, where he operated a farm and uploaded occasional videos of his life.

Death

In a May 3, 2020 Facebook post, Vasquez spoke of feeling feverish and having trouble breathing. However, he refrained from going to a hospital, as he looked forward to reincarnating and "enjoying the ride". On May9, Vasquez died in the emergency room of John C. Fremont Hospital in Mariposa, California. Vasquez was tested for COVID-19 but no results have yet been released.

History

The amateur video shows the view from Vazquez's property into the skies above the

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

on January 8, 2010. After moving away from several trees that interfere with the scene, Vazquez enjoys an unobstructed view of a semicircular

. Vasquez's reaction captures his intense emotional excitement; he weeps with joy and moans ecstatically, uttering phrases such as "Double rainbow all the way across the sky," "What does this mean?" and "Too much!" Vasquez posted the video to

himself as user ''Hungrybear9562'' (now ''Yosemitebear62'') on January8, 2010. On July3, comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel linked to the video in a post on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, saying that he and a friend had declared it the "funniest video in the world." The video quickly gained over one million views. A July 16 feature on the video by

CNN.com CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

stated that the video had gained 4.8 million views. The video gained Vasquez a feature on the comedy show ''

Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series is hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides satirical commentary on online viral video clips, inter ...

''. ABC News describes the video as "a three-and-a-half-minute emotional journey," with Vasquez confirming his sobriety during recording. On July 26, 2010, Bear was interviewed by Kimmel on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

''. On the December16 episode, he was awarded Video of the Year and appeared in a video short created by the show for the event.

Aftermath

On July 5, 2010, the Gregory Brothers

auto-tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...

d the video under the name "Double Rainbow Song". Their video has since gotten over 39 million views and has become a viral video in itself, almost surpassing the original in number of views. The song was covered by

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

(as

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

) and The Axis of Awesome during a live recording of a charity show in the UK. In 2011, Vasquez appeared in a commercial for Vodafone New Zealand, parodying the video. The video appears as the first scene of the 2013 movie '' We're the Millers''. Two years earlier, Bear had appeared in

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

's ad for Smartwater. On May 9, 2016, Bear appeared on the Slooh.com live broadcast of the

Transit of Mercury frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Mercury across the Sun takes place when the planet Mercury passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet. During a transit, Mercury appears as a tiny black dot moving across the Sun as the planet obs ...

. This video was featured in 2016

's April Fool prank and it can be watched with

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

in 360 "SnoopaVision".

References

External links

*The original video, titled {{YouTube, OQSNhk5ICTI, "Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10"
Professional MMA record for Paul Vasquez
from Sherdog 2010 works 2010 YouTube videos Viral videos Internet memes introduced in 2010 2010 in California Rainbows in culture