The Tide Pod challenge became a social media craze in the beginning of January, and some young people who have taken the challenge and have become sick or almost died. For those that weren’t aware, the premise is to bite into a tide pod. The Washington Post  post sums up the Tide Pod challenge, as kids just eating tide pods and posting it online to sites such as Youtube. Sometimes, the act is accompanied by some dry humor, like pretending to cook a laundry pod.

That being said, more often than not, it’s just kids biting on Tide Pods and filming it until it pops and then seeing if they survive or spit it out in times.  Shockingly, a 2018 a report from the AAPC stated that a grand total of 86 cases of Tide Pod poisoning have been seen in 13-19 year olds since the start of January 2018. That is an extremely concerning number.  

Sophomore football player Kale Farr said, “I think eating a laundry pod is one of the dumbest things a kid can do, especially since it’s for no purpose but harming yourself for attention.” Another Bob Jones student Damon Williams said, “Frankly, the fact that something like that legitimately exists is just reflective on the stupid things people will do to follow a dumb internet meme.”

Sophomore Aidan Griffith said, “Poisoning yourself because you were idiotic enough to believe people on the internet is an idiotic thing to do. Just because someone says something clearly poisonous isn’t poisonous if you do it right doesn’t make it a guaranteed truth.”

Thankfully, no one at Bob Jones seems legitimately interested in eating a laundry pod. While students may joke and poke fun of it, it’s pretty clear consuming Tide pods is a stupid Trend. Nonetheless, it’s concerning how quickly things like Youtube videos can influential teens and young adults. 

People need to call poison control (1-800-222-1222) if they suspect someone has ingested a Tide Pod.