Hampton The Hampster, a Canadian animated hamster created by Deidre LaCarte in
1997, gained prominence as an internet meme through the Hampster Dance website.
Initially, the site featured rows of animated GIFs of dancing rodents paired
with a sped-up sample from Roger Miller's "Whistle-Stop". The Hampster Dance
phenomenon spread rapidly via email and early blogs, leading to significant web
traffic and the creation of an online store selling themed items. In April 1999,
English electronic group the Cuban Boys released "Cognoscenti vs.
Intelligentsia", which included a similar samp...