Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat

THE latest craze doing the rounds on the internet is the inexplicably hilarious Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat.

The concept is simple: A clip is played of a pratfall or some unfortunate, self-inflicted accident. This is immediately followed by (always the same) old clip of a cat playing an upbeat tune on a keyboard.

The keyboard cat is, in a way, the smiling face of fate, perpetually making light of silly human failures. Like the old vaudeville hook, the keyboard cat will play you off the stage.

The phenomenon was started by Brad O'Farrell, a 22-year-old syndication manager. In February, he uploaded the first video: a clip of someone falling down an escalator, promptly "played off" by the taunting keyboard cat.

The video has spawned hundreds of copycats that have collectively been watched by millions.