Despacito YouTube views

Two curves that, against all dignity, run in parallel: the view count of a reggaeton single and the amount of instant ramen humanity eats. One hesitates to even think about the hidden third factor, which will probably turn out to be disappointing. It always does.

Both lines steepened in 2020 because both benefited from the same thing: billions of people at home, with time and a kitchen. Despacito kept compounding on autoplay — it passed seven billion views in this window — while instant ramen production leapt by about 9%, the biggest single-year jump in a decade, as households worldwide stockpiled shelf-stable food through the first covid lockdowns. Soundtrack and sustenance, sharing a pantry.

So the correlation is two very different appetites, both fed by the same lockdown. Background audio and foreground noodles. The chorus looped while the water boiled.