A version of this article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
An interesting and somewhat bizarre trend recently cropped up on the internet. The “Tide Pod challenge” simply entails filming yourself biting down on a Tide Pod—a laundry detergent capsule, which some say resembles a sweet.
Like many things on the internet, the origins of the challenge are murky and unclear. Some trace it back to a satirical article by The Onion, others to CollegeHumor videos, and others still to various tweets about the appetising appearance of the capsules.