The Internet's Favorite Prank Just Reached An Epic Milestone

A lot of online memes have come and gone over the years, but there’s one that people are never gonna give up: 

Rickrolling  is the not-so-subtle art of tricking someone into watching Rick Astley ’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” video, which just topped 1 billion views on YouTube. 

“That is mind-blowing,” Astley said on Twitter. “The world is a wonderful and beautiful place, and I am very lucky.”

Variety reported  that just three other music videos from the 1980s have passed the 1 billion mark: “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, “Take On Me” by A-ha and “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. 

Know Your Meme traced the rickroll to 2006 just a year after YouTube’s birth as explained in this video: 

Astley said in 2016 that he learned about rickrolling when he became a victim of the prank himself. 

″(He) sent me an email — he rickrolled me. It was a really long time ago. I know this guy really, really well. He’s one of my best friends,” Astley told the “Today” show . “Then he sent me another one. He just kept doing it.”