Viral Video Highlights

(CBS)  Viral videos are hard to escape. As the name suggests, there is a virtual epidemic of these free, occasionally hilarious clips spreading across the Internet from one person to the next.

If you've got an Internet connection and an e-mail address, then someone – friend, family or co-worker – has probably let you know about somebody doing something that you just have to see.

The CBSNews.com staff came up with a short list of viral videos that have ended up in our in-boxes. Click on the links below, and the videos will play in a new window.

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Almost anything can catch become a "viral video" success story. This clip is only six seconds long but has become wildly popular.

Sucker Punch

The band OK Go might be one of the biggest viral successes. The low-budget video for "Here It Goes Again" is the most popular video on YouTube.com this week, and its Internet success has gotten the video airtime on VH1.

Here It Goes Again

If you were ever kept up at night wondering what would happen if you put Mentos candy into a bottle of Diet Coke, viral videos have the answer.

Mentos And Diet Coke

Inexperienced Diet Coke And Mentos Rocketing

The video doesn't have to be new to be passed around. This one is probably older than the Internet itself, but it's still making the rounds on computers worldwide.

The Exploding Whale

After the amazing success of the "Saturday Night Live" sketch, "Lazy Sunday" — itself a viral video phenomenon — dozens of tributes and spoofs emerged on the Internet. Try these three for an introduction.

Lazy Monday

Lazy Ramadi

Lazy Muncie

The Oscar-winning film "Brokeback Mountain" inspired a slew of Internet parodies. Check out the trend of remaking other movies in the "Brokeback" style.

Brokeback To The Future

Top Gun Brokeback Squadron

The Empire Strikes Brokeback