Skip TV: The unlikely mundane London webcam enthralling builders and shaming fly-tippers - how to watch

A live stream of a central London skip is being watched by hundreds of internet sleuths to see what people are fly-tipping there.

After a survey of 250 British builders revealed 70% had experienced having their skip filled with other people's rubbish, forcing them to pay out of their own pockets, Skip Watch TV was launched.

In less than 24 hours, offenders had dumped cardboard, a mirror and even a freezer in the skip, unaware they were being recorded by covert cameras hidden outside Terry's Café in Southwark.

The live stream, which will capture all the rubbish people dump, will be available every day from Monday 7 to Friday 11 August.

The premise of the "show" might seem trivial and mundane, but that hasn't stopped hundreds of internet sleuths from keeping an eye on the live stream.

And this isn't the first time mundane webcams capturing everyday activities people can relate to have become viral sensations on the internet. A result of human curiosity, the unpredictable nature of online content and the power of collective attention, these seemingly humdrum scenes continue to fascinate the general public.

A small, obscure webcam can become a sensation if it gets shared and talked about on social media. But largely uneventful webcams often capture everyday activities people can relate to.

Sometimes, the very simplicity and mundanity of the content can be what makes it stand out in a sea of more elaborate and attention-grabbing media; in a fast-paced and often stressful world, watching something simple and calming can provide a form of relaxation and escapism.

Early reality TV shows like Big Brother popularised the concept of 24/7 live streaming of people's daily lives, including everyday activities and interactions, and showcased the potential entertainment value of watching unscripted, ordinary moments unfold in real time.

One of the first "viral" webcams was The Fog Cam, focused on the view of the fog rolling over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It was established in 1994, and at the time, the novelty of being one of the first early-internet webcams would've attracted viewers no matter what it was showing.

But despite its simplicity, it gained a large following over the years due to its unique perspective and the calming effect of watching the fog. That calming effect was seen again years later when a webcam positioned at a train crossing in a small Finnish town became unexpectedly popular.

Viewers from around the world tuned in to watch and wait for trains to pass by, the mundane act of waiting for a train turning into an oddly captivating experience.

In 2017, a webcam was set up in Newfoundland, Canada, to monitor a massive iceberg that had drifted into the area; despite the slow and gradual movements of the iceberg, the live stream attracted international attention.

One of the more memorable mundane webcams of recent years was the puddle webcam in Newcastle, which emerged as an unexpected online sensation in 2016. Set up by a local marketing agency, the webcam was fixated on a seemingly ordinary puddle at a pedestrian crossing.

As rainwater collected and pedestrians navigated the small aquatic obstacle, viewers worldwide were captivated by the simplicity and unpredictability of the scene, the puddle's transformation from a mere water patch to an ever-evolving obstacle course briefly uniting a global audience.

Social media platforms amplified its popularity, with Twitter hashtags and Reddit threads tracking the puddle's progress, spawning creativity through humorous commentary and Photoshop edits.

And who can forget the Daily Star's lettuce webcam, set up to see what would last longer - a supermarket lettuce, or ailing Prime Minister Liz Truss? Truss lost that one after just 44 days in office, with the lettuce (now sporting a blonde wig) throwing an online party to celebrate.

Then there are the countless online webcams positioned at airports, focused on runways and taxiways, the waiting areas of businesses, bird feeders, and ant farms all providing a unique perspective on everyday activities or natural phenomena.

You can even take a mental break by watching paint dry, without having to actually paint a wall yourself.