Internet Nostalgia

Let’s Revisit the Double Rainbow Guy

How do we handle sincerity on the internet?

Welcome to part 11 of our Internet Nostalgia series, which looks back at phenomena that captured the internet’s imagination and attention for a fleeting moment and then vanished as everyone moved on to something else. This series looks back at those olden times and what they told us about the internet and ourselves. If you have a suggested topic, email me at williamfleitch@yahoo.com. Last week, we looked at Boaty McBoatface. This week: the Double Rainbow guy.

Date: January 8, 2010.

The story: In 2010, Paul Vasquez had the good fortune of living just outside of Yosemite National Park. He was from East Los Angeles, but discovered that he loved the outdoors more than anything, so he moved outside Maricopa, California, to a farm. He would make sometimes charming, mostly meandering videos about his life and post them to YouTube. He was just another of billions of people on this planet until one day, in January 2010, he stepped outside his home and saw the rare — though not that rare — double rainbow. His reaction was… well, let’s call it enthusiastic.