The wacky

Ask a Ninja

Ever had a question that only the wisdom and power of a ninja could answer?

Ask a Ninja is a series of comedic videos in which a mysterious Ninja addresses viewers' e-mails on topics like ninja training, technology, physics, and Santa. Videos are characterised by the Ninja's exaggerated hand gestures and erratic camera angle changes, which occur constantly as the Ninja battles invisible enemies (or so he says).

Created in 2005 by Los Angeles improvisational comedians Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine, the site averages 30,000 visitors a day, and is on track to grossing low to mid seven figures this year through advertising and merchandise.

"Douglas is a huge fan of martial arts and kung fu movies, and Kent is a huge geek, so it was a perfect fit," Nichols told PC World. "We just wanted to help get a real ninja's perspective out into the world, and the net has really embraced that goal."

Besides material success, the popularity generated by Ask a Ninja has also earned its creators some recognition and respect in the entertainment industry. Last year, the pair made guest appearances as commentators on VH1, while Sarine, who plays the Ninja, has appeared as a guest film critic on National Public Radio, and a judge on Yahoo's talent-show contest.

Mahir Cagri: "I Kiss You"

Before Borat, there was Mahir Cagri, a Turkish accordion player-turned-Internet-celebrity in 1999. At its peak, Cagri's personal Web site, ikissyou.org, was receiving around 50,000 page views per day, resulting in it being entered into the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records for the most visits to a personal homepage with a total of 12 million hits.

Cagri describes his online success as a surprise to himself and the rest of the world, as he claims to have done nothing to promote his site. "l'm first internet star off world and my site," he told PC World, in his notorious broken English. "l have thousand fans-friends all world and famous star fans too ... many my fans invited me their country house and come me too; this is continue still."

The obligations of fame have also led Cagri to make numerous high-profile appearances, including being parodied on The Late Show with David Letterman, appearing in Forbes, and an eTour-sponsored tour to the U.S. worth a rumoured US$1 million. In 2005, Cagri produced his own music video with EMI records. The video, titled "I kiss you", features Cagri taking in the sights of London, wearing a self-promotional T-shirt and chanting, "My name is Mahir. I kiss you, I kiss you."

While he is unable to say how much ikissyou.org has earned him in advertising dollars, Cagri estimates that he has been seen by "about 200 millions people." He is now appearing in televised advertisements around the world, and is soon to be releasing an auto-biography that he says will also serve as a script for a Hollywood movie in the near future.