The Harlem Shake, the latest Internet dancing sensation, shook its way into Doe Memorial Library Friday afternoon when around 300 students in costume descended on the North Reading Room.
The flash mob, which was started as a Facebook group with more than 3,000 people, parodied the Harlem Shake videos. The videos generally start off with one person dancing in costume, and when the beat drops, everyone begins dancing together.
Students took the opportunity to dress up by donning Guy Fawkes masks, capes or by simply taking it all off.
One student, Vien Nguyen, said he wore his Power Rangers speedo to be unique.
“It took a lot of courage to take my pants off in front of 200 to 300 people and hump the air,” said Nguyen. “I wanted to show YouTube that speedos aren’t lame.”
The event had to be done silently due to library rules that lead to confusion on when to dance.
“It was kind of awkward,” said Akhila Raju, a UC Berkeley freshman clad in bright floral leggings, sunglasses and a bear hat. “It was awesome, though. People were jumping and dancing.”
For student Arif Ali, this was a chance to make up for missing the last Internet-inspired flash mob.
“I missed out on the Gangnam Style flash mob, and I didn’t want to miss this” said Ali. “As stereotypical as this is, you only live once.”