Pittsburgh-area pig gains worldwide fame with ice-sliding video

PITTSBURGH — It was a short, 11-second video posted to WPXI-TV Pittsburgh's facebook page during an ice storm in Pittsburgh.

Ricky Phillip Gindlesberger said he wasn’t sure about posting it, but went ahead and shared it anyway.

What happened next is social media history.

“Phineaus the ice-sliding pig” has now been seen across the world. Gindlesberger said he’s amazed by how quickly the adorable video of his Juliana/potbelly mix sliding on some ice has spread.

“This has been a whirlwind! I wasn’t even going to post the video with it only being 11 seconds but I figured, ‘Oh well.’ By Monday it was literally everywhere. We are just stunned. He has no idea just how popular he is,” said Gindlesberger.

On the WPXI-TV Pittsburgh page, the video has been shared nearly 8,000 times and viewed half a million times. It has also aired on “Inside Edition,” “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” and has appeared on websites across the world.

"Big thanks to WPXI-TV Pittsburgh! It all started there. Now Phinny has been seen all around the world! Just crazy," Gindlesberger posted on Phinny's new Facebook fan page, "Phineaus the Ice Sliding Pig."

Phinny’s owner said his real talent isn’t sliding on ice, but rather annoying his older brother Pippin (a 9 month old pig).

Phinny, Pippin, Gindlesberger and his fiancé Aaron live in Twilight, about 20 minutes south of Washington, Pa.