When does a joke go too far? When it involves eating laundry detergent.
In 2015, The Onion published a satirical article from the perspective of the toddler expressing a desire to eat “those delicious looking” multicolored detergent pods. This was the likely genesis of a meme that suggested the candy-colored Tide pods were food.
Now, millenials all over the country and posting videos of them biting into the vibrantly colored liquid laundry detergent packets, which contain “highly concentrated toxins.” According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the first two weeks of the new year there had been “eighty-six reported exposures to liquid detergent pods by teengaers above the age of thirteen and more than half were deliberate.”
“I think the challenge is done for fame. Kids want to be famous and gain followers for doing something that could seriously damage their bodies,” says Justin Kim.
People who have taken the risk to do the challenge have been hospitalized due to vomiting, breathing difficulties and loss of consciousness but the consequences can be as serious as death. The American Association of Poison Control has reported, ”eight fatalities” of children who are five and younger. According to Dr. Rais Vohra, a medical toxicologist at UCSF Fresno, “if the liquid bursts open and travels to the back of the throat it can cause burns in the back of the throat.”
Senior,Ben Hunt thinks that the whole challenge when broken down is bizarre, “it’s a thing where people eat something that could make them sick or worse, it’s so dumb.”
But recently this new “challenge” that has surfaced on the internet has reached the audience at Vinnie’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn who is known for their wildly creative pizzas like their pizza box pizza which is as described, a pizza inside of a pizza box made of pizza. This pizzeria located on Bedford Ave, in Brooklyn is currently featuring on their instagram their new mini calzones cleverly named “PIEd pods” stuffed with mozzarella cheese, ricotta and topped with red tomatoes and dyed (but safe) blue mozzarella to help kids find a “gateway food for the kids to get back to actual food. Hope not soap!”
More surprisingly, the commentary has taken to Amazon where customers and internet trolls have been leaving surprising comments in regards to the pods on their order page. One person commented, “I can’t really put my finger on the exact flavor, but trust me when I say they’re absolutely delicious.” While another person decided to open up the conversation to the public by asking, “What flavor of Tide Pods tastes the best? (Asking for a friend).” Although many responded with warning and pleads against eating Tide Pods some played along with the joke and reacted to it with comments such as, “all taste great, Spring Meadow is the original flavor though.”
“People need to use those pods to do their laundry and clean their clothes not their digestive system,” junior Jerry Gregory states.
