- [Narrator] Being stuck
behind a desk in an office for a measly paycheck is a
lot of people's idea of hell. But believe it or not, there are some super
weird opportunities online that pay much better than
the standard 9:00 to 5:00. They range from filming
yourself eating or studying to pretending to be Jesus or even a dog for hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don't believe me? Well, just take a look at some
people who've made a fortune by indulging the Internet's
undeniably weird side. (energetic music) "Posting Memes." From grumpy cat and dabbing to surprised Pikachu,
everyone loves a good meme. These often hilarious
images, videos and texts, are copied and spread
rapidly by internet users meaning many go viral
at the drop of a hat. They're so popular that
social media accounts like Instagram's Daquan, have amassed millions of followers
just by regularly posting the freshest and funniest
memes they can find. This account in particular, was started by an anonymous
teen back in 2014, but by 2020, the account boasted a phenomenal 16 million followers. Its success led it to
joining the IMGN media family alongside other meme accounts like So Satisfying, Soccer
Memes and many more. All up, IMGN managed accounts bring in 3 billion views a month, with more than 40 million
combined subscribers. And this was something
that got the attention of the suits upstairs. Wanting to know what was
trending with the teens, Warner Music Group stepped forward and offered up a phenomenal $85 million for all of IMGNs accounts. This now gives them the skinny on what's down with Gen Z, so other branches of their business can profit from their inside scoop. - How do you do fellow kids? - [Narrator] So keep posting
those sweet memes kids because one day you
too could be bought out by a multi-billion-dollar corporation and never have to work again. Until then, why don't you hit those Like and Subscribe
buttons down below. I mean, I don't post content
with memes in it every day but when I do, you're
not gonna wanna miss out. Right, now that I've got all
those memes out of my system where were we? "Crowdfunding Con Artist." Kickstarter is a crowdfunding company that hosts a platform
where people can bring their inventions and innovations to life. All they need are a few images of the potential product or
service, a fundraising goal, and voila, a Kickstarter campaign is born. And just about anything
can get funded on here from a guy wanting to make a potato salad to the Grilled Cheesus sandwich toaster. - Shut up and take my money. - [Narrator] Although
there are some products that look too good to be
real, like the toasteroid. This app-controlled toaster would let users draw
designs on their phone which would then be
toasted onto their bread. It was such a unique idea
that almost 2,000 people pledged over $187,000 to
bring it to life back in 2017. But after a few months,
the toasters never arrived. The associated website suddenly went dark and pledgers were left with nothing. Devastated that they'd been scammed, they took to Kickstarter's comments to demand a refund. But here's the thing, Kickstarter is just a
mediator in this process. That means all the money but a small fee, goes directly to the creators. And because backing a project is based entirely on good faith, there's no legal
obligation from Kickstarter to deliver or refund anything at all. So, Toasteroid's scammer
took all the money and ran without any repercussions
from them whatsoever. Not only that, but it
turned out Toasteroid had raised a further $201,000 on the Indiegogo without delivering. And just like Kickstarter, Indiegogo claimed it wasn't their problem. So unsurprisingly, this sort of scam has become a pretty popular
way of making a quick buck. Projects like the non-existent smartphone accessory, Auxillite, raised more than $153,000 from
over 6,500 unlucky people. And ZNAPS, the too good to
be true magnetic charger raked in $CAD3 million, almost
$2.5 million from pledgers only to disappear without a word. I guess this proves that anyone
can get rich on Kickstarter, whether you've got a real product or not. "Online Babysitter." Many parents working from
home during the pandemic have struggled to juggle work with housekeeping and childcare. Now more than ever, these
poor parents need a break, which is where virtual
babysitters come in. And despite what it sounds like, it doesn't just mean
leaving your baby alone in front of a camera for a few hours. Virtual babysitters entertain
children by engaging with them through the camera like putting on shows, telling stories and watching TV with them. It's basically Zoom for babies, which keeps them occupied while mom and dad get a little down time. But a personal on-call
entertainer like this doesn't come cheap. Depending on whether it's a birthday party or a one-on-one session,
performers can earn up to a whopping $90 an hour keeping the tots entertained. That's an awful lot considering
some virtual babysitters just keep the kids happy by
streaming cartoon marathons. Sure, they engage with
the kid as they watch, but this ultimately means
that they can get paid to just watch cartoons without
any actual responsibility. Now, this is my kind of
gig, where do I sign up? "Friend for Hire." Have you ever wanted to go see a movie but nobody wants to go with you? It's just not the same going alone which is where RentaFriend
comes to the rescue. Like the name aptly suggests, this is a service where you
can literally rent people to hang out with you whether
it's a trip to the movies, playing video games,
fishing or even skydiving, these pals get paid to do things that someone else loves. And if they share the
same hobbies or passions, it's an easy way to get paid to do the stuff they actually enjoy. But just how much exactly? Well, if you signed up as a buddy for hire on the website, rentafriend.com, most financial friends start
out at just $10 an hour. But this can go up to $50 an
hour depending on the activity which can turn into a
profitable little side-hustle. I mean, I'd go see a movie
with you for $10 an hour but if it's a chick flick I'd
push it up to $50 an hour, then you're definitely
paying for the popcorn. "Fake News Writer." Now if you cast your mind back to the 2016 presidential election, you might remember President
Trump's obsession with, - Fake news. Fake news. Fake news. Fake news. Its all fake news. Fake news. It's fake. - [Narrator] While Trump's
enthusiastic supporters were quick to click on all the weird and whacky articles
popping up around the web, the article writers were
profiting off all that passion. You see, over the sea in Macedonia a group of young teenagers were churning out plagiarized articles with the weirdest headlines
they can think of. From "Proof Obama was Born in Kenya," to "The Pope Endorses Trump," these writers baselessly made-up claims and then posted the
articles on their websites. Using Facebook and Google's
advertising programs which weren't nearly as
comprehensive as they are now, they were able to monetize this content. And the more people that
visited their pages, the more adverts were run
and the more money they made. And this meant millions
of gullible Americans were enticed to click on
these outrageous articles and when they did, the writer on the other
end made a fortune. How much exactly? Well, the biggest operation
of its kind at the time which was run by those previously mentioned Macedonian teens, was earning each writer,
get this, $10,000 a month. And all by duping gullible Americans into believing things like,
Sarah Palin got hit by a car, or Michelle Obama caught
cheating on Barack. Who knew teenagers
could get rich so easily off adult ignorance? "Animal Antics." Anyone working an office
job during the pandemic will know there's only so
many online Team meetings you can take before you
wanna struggle Karen from HR. Although the founders of Sweet Farm have found an unusual way
to brighten up any Zoom call with their "Goat-2-Meeting" package. This animal sanctuary
tunes into weekly briefings with a host of animals on display ranging from goats to llamas. It's a lovely way to
take the office on a tour but this isn't a charity event. Just by getting these animals to look at the camera for 10 minutes, Sweet farms charges a whopping $100. And for 20 minutes, that
goes up to a whopping $250. Although, a VIP 30-minute tour can set a company back a staggering $750. Since it started the
service back in March 2020, they've fielded over 300 requests, which would mean they've
earned at least $30,000. And all by putting animals
in front of a camera. I wonder if I could set
up a similar service with my animals, although I don't know if I could charge $100 for a shot of a few goldfish flapping around. "Fake It 'Till you Make It. We've all felt jealous of the
rich kids on social media: flaunting their brand-new sports cars, showing off luxury shopping hauls, or maybe just posing
with floors full of cash. Yeah, real subtle. A lot of us would do anything to make it look like we were
living the high life online, which is, ironically, where you could stand to make some cash. Over in China, e-commerce
sites like Taobao, host sellers who shoot 10 second long, first person style videos
of a super lavish lifestyle. From sitting next to wads of cash, to hanging out with a
beautiful girl in a Porsche, it all looks like it's
been shot on your phone. People can then buy the videos for as little as six Yuan, and that's less than a dollar. And the seller overlays
it with the voice note of their choice. Wannabe rich kids can then upload the video to their own platform, so it looks and sounds something like, ah, (clears throat) Ohh, look at me, real top baller chilling with my girl in this car
that I definitely own. Broom! Broom! (clears throat) Okay, probably more convincing than that, but this expensive looking stock footage isn't all that hard to shoot. That money could be fake for all we know, and who's to say this lady isn't just out for a test drive? Keeping costs like this low, one merchant behind the
camera claimed he made more than a wallet busting $3,000 a month just by selling these clips. And it wouldn't take much
to set up something similar. That being said, does anyone have a Porsche I could borrow, and a camera and a, and a girlfriend? "Mock Mourner." Now, some people go to extreme lengths to make themselves look popular,
even from beyond the grave. Unbelievably, back in 2012 , a British website called, rentamourner.co.uk, appeared online. For £45 an hour, or roughly $63, they would send someone to
sob throughout a funeral, making everyone believe the deceased was more popular than they actually were. And they wouldn't just sit
there to swell up the numbers, each rent-a-mourner was briefed
on the life of the departed, so that they could interact believably with the rest of the
family and friends there. You might be thinking, this is just too weird
to be a viable business, but the company's owner
claimed that in its first year, 52 bookings had been arranged. So, they made at least $3,000 just by turning up for an
hour and acting a bit sad. Not only that, but this
bizarre business model seems to have found a foothold
in America as well. One man, by the name of
Sylvester Ricardo Moss, posted his rates on Facebook as a professional mourner back in 2017. For $50, he offered to
turn up to a graveside and shed a few tears. But for $1,000, this man
would act so hysterical that he'd literally jump into the grave. It may sound outrageous, but considering his
clients had all passed on, I don't think they'd
have been any the wiser if he didn't hop in. Pretty smart business model if you ask me. "Cuddles for Cash." There's nothing quite
like being wrapped up in a big warm hug, but would you ever pay for
the privilege of cuddling with a total stranger? Well, you maybe not, but there are plenty of
people on the internet who are so touch-starved, that they pay people to
come and cuddle them. And before all the outraged
Karens start flooding the comment section, no, it's
not that kind of cuddling. These are professional cuddlers, who do all of their
cuddling fully clothed. Not only that, but they
also have actual diplomas in cuddling, snuggling, and hugging. It's technically a type of therapy, which sees the cuddler hold
and listen to any problems their cuddle-ee might have. I guess it's a bit like having
a therapist you can spoon. Sounds pretty relaxing, until you learn that an hour
of cuddling can cost up to $80. One woman, called Robin, worked as a full time
cuddler for 18 months, and spent up to 25 hours a
week cuddling her clients. And from this, she made $40,000 a year just from snuggling and listening. Now, you might think that
social-distancing put a stop to people embracing this
cuddly career choice, but actually, it's managed to thrive. A website called, cuddlist.com, offers virtual cuddling sessions, where cuddle-ees just visualize the person on their video call
stroking and holding them. Sounds a bit strange but for $40,000, even I'd be tempted to
cuddle up to the camera. "Jesus Herbert Christ." If there's one thing this pandemic has left many of us
with, it's a lot of hair. But one man has managed to
turn his long-haired appearance into a job that will
never go out of style. Say hello to Jesus Herbert Christ, also known as SoCalChrist. - You're favorite lord and savior, Jesus. - [Narrator] With nothing
more than his long hair, his beard and a bed sheet, this guy has turned himself into a full time Jesus impersonator. But instead of turning up to mass and frightening the living
daylight out of the local nuns, this holy man uses the power
of impersonation for good. Using the website, Fiverr, which allows people to offer almost any service they can think of, this Jesus makes a
miraculous amount of money by recording videos. For just $10, he'll record any 50-word
phrase you want in video form. But depending on the price, he can bless you in a number of ways: from delivering a
personalized birthday message, to rocking out, or even
creating a product endorsement. With more than 9000 customer
reviews in his 4-year stint on the platform, he's earned
at least $22,500 a year. That's almost $100,000 all up! Seems like a pretty blessed gig. So, before you cut off
all your lockdown locks, ask yourself, what would Jesus do? "Cyber Spellcaster." If you saw a button on the internet that offered to magically
solve your problems for $75, would you click it? Anyone with two brain
cells to rub together would be able to figure out
that it probably wasn't real. But astonishingly, that's
exactly how online spellcasters like Miss Crystal, make their money. Like SoCalChrist, she also uses Fiverr. But without any kind of guarantee, aside from her perfect
5-star review score, believers select the spell they want, pay her a minimum of
$75, and then just wait. Miss Crystal doesn't have
to send them anything, show how she cast the spell, or even prove that she cast it at all. Her patrons just have to believe that the spell is working its magic. Now, you might be thinking that no one would actually
spend their hard-earned money on a single, mystical click, seeing as it can cost up to $90 a pop. But, according to her description, around 12,000 people have
bought into this world of witchery since she started in 2012. With spells starting at $75, this could mean she's made
around $900,000 in just 9 years. And all from people
just clicking a button. Maybe I should start
putting a dollar amount on my Like and Subscribe buttons. "Mukbang Money." Considering you're
watching this on YouTube, there's a good chance you stumbled across a few videos of people
eating gargantuan amounts of food titled, "Mukbang." For those of you who've been
too scared to click on them, they involve a YouTuber
slurping, chewing and binging, often on portions large
enough to feed a whole family. This trend started out in South Korea back in the late 2000's, where people would
live-stream themselves eating while interacting with their viewers. The word itself comes
from muk-ja for "eating" and bang-song for "broadcast." So, Mukbang literally
means "eating broadcast." Whether it was the noises, the visuals or the interaction, the Mukbang format
quickly gained popularity. By 2015, some of the
most viewed Mukbang stars were paid up to $10,000
a month by their fans to continuously eat large amounts. Since then, the Mukbang
trend has spread to YouTube and found a foothold
with western audiences. By monetizing these videos
with advertisements, famous eaters like Zack Choi, who has over 12 million subscribers, earns an estimated $17,000 a week from the millions of views he gets. So, next time you cook
up an extra-large meal, be sure you're aiming the camera at your face when you eat it. Otherwise, you could be missing out on a sweet YouTube meal-ticket. "Study Earning." Now, if you couldn't wrap your head around how much money
was involved in Mukbang, then Gongbang might just blow your mind. But don't worry, it doesn't involve a family sized serving of noodles, or enough cheese to give
an elephant diabetes. From the name, you probably guessed this trend also originated in South Korea. Gongbang is a combination
of gongbu bangsong, the Korean for "study broadcast". It's where people record or
stream themselves studying for up to 12 hours at a time. This might not sound like the
most riveting entertainment, but for a lot of lonely students, it's a bit like having
a virtual study buddy. The Gongbang format has
been around since 2018, but since classes moved
online during the pandemic, this craze has really taken off. The serious study format
has become so popular that dedicated YouTube channels, like The Strive Studies, have videos that have amassed
more than 7 million views. Like Mukbang, these
videos can be monetized through advert placements, and with more than 21 million views, calculators estimate
that The Strive Studies earned around $40,000 from
her study videos alone. Hmm, maybe I'm doing this
whole YouTube thing wrong. Who wants to watch me study
for 12 hours straight instead? "Gas for Cash." Now, you might be surprised to learn that you can use your butt
to boost your bank account. And before all the Karens
out there start asking to speak to my manager, relax. It's all done by keeping your pants on. That is, if Emma Martin's business model is anything to go by. This married mother-of-two from South Carolina makes her living by recording herself farting on camera. I mean, I'm not sure this
kind of content is for me, but there are people out there who pay good money for fart films. (boys farting) So much so, that she can
charge fart-loving customers $5 a month to watch
all her gassy exploits. At her peak, this meant
she was earning upwards of a phenomenal $4,000 a month
from her flatulence alone. And to keep her camming
up to scratch and sniff, Emma relies on a special diet
high in gas inducing foods like avocados, asparagus,
coleslaw and beans. With a camera on standby, this means she will always
have something to release in more ways than one. "A Job with Sole." At just 24 years old, Desiree Gato might be one of the youngest and most successful realtors in Florida. But not because she's making
millions selling houses, instead, she makes a lot of
her money selling photos of, you'll never guess, her feet. She was making a decent
living as a realtor but decided to make a little
extra cash on the side by doing some spicy lingerie shoots and sharing them on her Instagram page. However, she found that while
people loved her pictures, some were completely captivated
by her titillating toes. She was initially offered
$30 per picture of her feet, without anything else in the shot. As soon as she indulged
this weird request, a steady stream of
regular foot-fond clients began to follow. Some would even pay her to get a pedicure or buy her socks and stockings they'd want to see her feet in. Business quite literally,
kicked off from there, with Desiree eventually
selling foot videos for an unbelievable $100 per minute. Now, she makes an
outrageous $10,000 per month off her feet alone. That's got to be the easiest money you can make with your feet up. "Bending Over Backwards." A lot of people lost their jobs when the pandemic first hit back in 2020. For live performers like dancers, this was a damning blow. But one former ballerina and bodybuilder, found a way to bend with
the situation, literally. Yaela Vonk studied at the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Ballet in The Hague, honing her flexibility to the point where she can bend herself
into plenty of pretzel shapes. Unable to dance for a
living during lockdown, she turned to the internet and discovered her back-breaking bending
ability attracted a number of fans to her social pages. She started receiving requests for poses, and being as savvy as she is flexible, she decided to cash in on the demand. But it wasn't just photos her fans wanted. Some began to ask her for custom videos, and even her worn, unwashed clothing, like her shoes, socks,
and even her underwear. Without asking too many questions, she figured it was a neat way of not having to do laundry, and so obliged, but for a hefty price. How hefty? Well, by mid-2020, she
claimed she was making a whopping $95,000 a month just by bending and selling her stinky, sweaty garments. I mean, for that kind of cash, even I'm tempted to learn
how to do the splits. Anyone in the market for a
pair of used size 12 socks? "The Lady is the Tramp." Now, dogs are adorable
no matter what shape or size they come in. But this one is a little harder to look away from for a lot of reasons. - [Man] Hey, what you doing on the couch? You know better than that. Bad girl. Go to your bed. No, quit whining. You know better than that. - [Narrator] Yeah, that is a woman acting pretty convincingly, like a dog. This is Jenna Phillips, a 22-year-old from Austin, Texas, who used
to be a clinical optician. But now, she spends her
days begging for treats, performing tricks, and
playing fetch on all fours. Now that's one heck of a career change. It started as something
she did just for fun, as she claims she'd always
felt like a big puppy at heart. But her videos soon
started to get traction from niche corners of the internet, and at one point she had nearly
120,000 TikTok followers. With this level of hype, Jenna quickly realized she
could start charging people to watch her doggy antics. Soon, subscribers were paying $20 a month to watch her live a dog's life. But the sheer demand for
doggy content surprised her, with some fans willing to pay up to $1,200 for a single custom video. Before she knew it, she was earning an astonishing
six figures a month, almost 100 times her yearly
salary as an optician. Needless to say, she quit her job to become a full-time dog. Now there's a sentence I never
thought I'd say out loud. Which of these weird online jobs would you be willing to
do for that extra cash? And do you know of any other weird jobs that belong on this list? Why do I feel like I'm going to regret that question when I read the comments? Well, as always, thanks for watching. (ambient music)
