Double Rainbow
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About
Double Rainbow is a homemade video uploaded by YouTube user Hungrybear9562 in which he declares feelings of awe and wonder after witnessing a rare "double rainbow" in Yosemite National Park. In the video, he can be heard crying in the background, which was apparently inspired by the radiance and vividness of the rainbow.
Origin
The video "Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10" was uploaded to YouTube on January 8th, 2010, by YouTuber Hungrybear9562, whose real name is Paul Vasquez. The video sat dormant in obscurity for months before it was discovered by the talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
According to Urlesque[1], Bear lives on the same land plot near Yosemite. He actively participates in the Indian ceremonial culture with his kids, girlfriend, and ex-wife.
Paul Vasquez
Paul Vasquez, aka Hungrybear9562, aka Yosemitebear, aka Bear, was a firefighter in LA before moving to Yosemite National Park in 1985 when he was 22 years old, where he married and had two children. Although they got divorced about 15 years ago, he is able to see his kids often because they still live near by with their mother. Bear worked in Yosemite from 1985 to 1994. He purchased land near Yosemite in 1988 and built a farm. Bear took up trucking from 1994 to 2004, but, because of his obesity, he was forced to end trucking. To combat his health problems, he took up cagefighting.
Spread
On July 3rd, Jimmy Kimmel posted a tweet[2] that linked Twitter users to the video. A little over an hour later, sports columnist Bill Simmons retweeted[3] Kimmel's post. On July 4th, a short article was posted on The Huffington Post about the video.[4] On July 5th, YouTuber RayWilliamJohnson posted a video highlighting the Double Rainbow video. On July 8th, Shira Lazar of CBS News[5] posted her interview with Paul Vasquez (Hungrybear9562).
"That day I was finishing a note to a friend telling her I was like Noah because I'm building what seems to be like an arc here. I have greenhouses and gardens and fern trees and lots of animals here. Right after finishing that email, I look out there and the colors. I walked out with my camera. What you see in the video is what I experienced. That rainbow lasted over an hour. My camera only captured about 40 percent of the color. It was a lot brighter than you see".
On July 7th, Know Your Meme's Internet Scientist Elspeth Jane interviewed HungryBear.
Elspeth: Double Rainbows don't happen every day- is this the first time you've caught one on film?HungryBear: I have lots of rainbow vid on my You Tube page, they come to my
front door on a regular basis.
Elspeth: What type of camera are you using?
HungryBear: A Sony DSC f 828
Elspeth: When was the video taken?
HungryBear: January 8th, 2010
Elspeth: You are in incredibly high spirits during the video- are you usually like that? If so, any advice for us on how to always be that happy and in awe of nature?
HungryBear: The rainbow was the Universe or Spirit flowing through me, the
reaction you heard was how I reacted to seeing the Holy Ghost, kind
of like Moses seeing the burning bush in the 10 commandments.
Elspeth: There's a small noise in the background that sounds like a windchime. What is it?
HungryBear: I have lots of wind chimes in my front yard, it's windy and I have
a great view, they go together.
Elspeth: What does your Youtube name mean?
HungryBear: The Yosemite people are the Bear clan, I married into them 25 years
ago and I look like a bear, there is more to it of course.
Elspeth: Can we find you anywhere else online?
HungryBear: http://yosemitedigitalphoto.smugmug.com/
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/yosemitebear/
Elspeth: What do you think of the attention your video is receiving? Do you like it?
HungryBear: I'm not surprised by the attention, I always knew someday I was
going to go viral, I knew when I shot the vid that it was special, it
was a reaction to the Holy Spirit and people would react to my
reaction, it's as expected. Spirit is speaking through me, people are
connecting to Spirit through me, they have a sense of recognition of
the power of the Universe. I love it!
Elspeth: Thanks so much!!
On July 22nd, Jimmy Kimmel's official YouTube channel posted a video of Bear in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live. On July 6th, the user schmoyoho (popular for "Auto-Tune the News") created an Auto-Tuned version of this video. The song can be purchased on iTunes[6], and proceeds are split between Yosemitebear and Auto-Tune the News.
On September 1st, 2010, Microsoft Windows released a promotional video featuring Vasquez:
A mash-up video involving Kermit the Frog singing "Rainbow Connection" called "The Double Rainbow Connection" was made by voice actor James Urbaniak, who plays Dr. Venture on Adult Swim's The Venture Bros.
More can be found in the video gallery below.
Death
Paul L. Vasquez died on May 9th, 2020, at age 57. It’s unknown what caused his death, but according to a post on his Facebook days before, he was tested for the coronavirus and suffering from an unknown ailment.
Search Interest
External References
[1] Urlesque via Wayback Machine – Double Rainbow Yosemite Bear Interview
[2] Twitter – @JimmyKimmel
[3] Twitter – @SportsGuy33
[4] The Huffington Post – Hilarious Hiker Guy Freak
[5] CBS News – Paul Vasquez Interview
[6] iTunes – Double Rainbow Song
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