Shrimp's science jog makes YouTube star

FOREST GROVE, Ore., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A Forest Grove, Ore., researcher said he had never heard of YouTube until his video of a shrimp on a treadmill became a sensation on the Web site.

David Scholnick of Pacific University said he and his research partner, Louis Burnett of the College of Charleston, took video of a shrimp running on an underwater tread mill two years ago as part of their research into the effects of fatigue on their experiments, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Wednesday.

Scholnick said he was amazed when he learned that a video of the shrimp he posted on his Web site turned into an Internet sensation, with dozens of videos featuring the exercising shrimp set to songs including the theme from "Rocky," "Lets Get Physical" by Olivia Newton John, "The Final Countdown" by Europe and Scholnick's favorite -- Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack."

"I'm a marine biologist," Scholnick said Wednesday on NBC's "Today Show." "I don't understand how this video got so popular. It's been kind of astounding."

The researcher said he hadn't heard of YouTube until someone pointed him toward a version of his video posted on the site.

"I actually didn't know what it was," Scholnick said. "Someone had to spell it."

The YouTube videos featuring the treadmill shrimp have collectively gathered more than 1 million viewers.