Recently, a challenge has been circulating on the Internet that is dangerous and dumb.
It’s called the Tide pod challenge and the “challenge” started in late December on Twitter where people posted videos of themselves eating the detergent pod, filming it and daring others to eat it. There has been at least eight deaths reported due to the ingestion of the Tide pods, according to Consumer Report.

A reason to why people might eat it is due to the fact that the pods look like candy. Before the challenge gained popularity, people posted pictures of the Tide pods on top of their food, but never actually ate them until now. The fact that young adults eat the Tide pods is concerning, all though I don’t see the appeal to this dangerous challenge. Why would people want to put themselves at a serious risk of having medical problems and the possibility of dying?
A Venice student who wanted to stay anonymous said, “They do look appealing, and I’ve almost tried it, but I stopped.”
There are health risks to swallowing detergent like your stomach being upset, but with the Tide pods since its highly concentrated, it can be worse. The aftermath of eating tide pods is excessive vomiting, lethargy, and gasping. Also some victims stopped breathing and needed ventilation support, according to Consumer Reports. Tide’s website does say in case of consumption to drink a glass of water or milk and to immediately call a poison control center.
At the beginning of January, the number of cases of people eating the pods that was reported to the American Association of Poison Centers has increased. The number for American Association of Poison Center is: (800) 222-1222 . You can call 24 hours every day.

Most social media platforms have responded to the challenge by taking down the videos. For example, YouTube has released a statement saying that, “YouTube’s Community Guidelines prohibit content that’s intended to encourage dangerous activities that have an inherent risk of physical harm. We work to remove flagged videos that violate our policies.” YouTube has been removing the videos, suspending and deactivating accounts. Facebook and Instagram has been taking down the videos too.