Trends sweeping social media and evoking participation from users have become fairly common. In the past, people on social media have taken part in Planking, The Harlem Shake, Ice Bucket Challenge, Mannequin Challenge, Invisible Box challenge and uploaded videos of the same. But it seems like with the beginning of the new year, things are being stretched a bit too far. A new challenge that's being called the 'Tide pod challenge' is taking over the people on social media, wherein teenagers and young adults can be seen putting tide pods into their mouths. Yes, you read it right. The latest Internet fad is to eat the detergent and put up videos of it. Several videos of kids biting into the coloured laundry detergent packets or even chewing them after cooking them in frying pans are all over the Internet and this has raised serious health concerns. Things took such a serious turn that on Saturday (January 13), US Consumer Product Safety Commission asked people not to eat "laundry pods". "Please don't eat laundry pods," they tweeted. Even the detergent brand tweeted a warning and wrote, "What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else. Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA." The chemicals present in the detergent, if consumed, can cause serious breathing problems, blood pressure changes, gastrointestinal problems and loss of consciousness. The corrosive ingredients present in it can even damage the esophagus. Watch teenagers taking this challenge. However, several others, in their bid to protect those indulging in such challenges, have spoken up against the danger of participating in such a challenge. Watch a man taking the challenge, well almost. Do you need to be brave to take this challenge? Watch this video to find out. Although it is not known exactly what started such a craze, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission had issued a statement way back in 2013 entreating parents to not let children handle the laundry packets. Such a challenge has infuriated and stunned people on social media. While some cannot believe that young adults could be this "stupid", others have made memes about it. One user, explaining the absurdity of the situation, wrote, "2 year old: Don’t put your fingers in your mouth/ 5 year old: Stop putting your fingers up your nose/ 10 year old: Don’t eat any candy that isn’t properly sealed/ 17 year old: Don’t eat #TidePods." Here are some tweets. Please tell me this generation ain't dumb enough to truly start a #tidepods challenge. pic.twitter.com/ErPxiFMIIk — Ashara Ylana (@asharatheauthor) January 10, 2018 December 2017 Twitter: 2018 IS GONNA BE OUR YEAR, LEAVE NEGATIVE PEOPLE BEHIND, BE SUCCESSFUL AF A few days into January 2018 Twitter: *half the people are eating #tidepods & the other half are wondering why the fuck they need to tell people not eat laundry detergent — Rumi (@Rumi18P) January 14, 2018 1997: Crack is wack. Just say NO! 2018: Stop eating Tide Laundry Detergent Pods. #TidePods #SMH pic.twitter.com/B5WjMxDsLm — De #FlyEaglesFly (#WeAllWeGot) (@HummBaby40) January 15, 2018 Question: Has anyone actually eaten #TidePods in this fandom? We joke about it constantly (too long) but has anyone beem stupid enough to actually do it? — ✨i lub paNDA EXPRESS🦌 (@StarlightDeer) January 15, 2018 My #Tide #Pod challenge. pic.twitter.com/jsmHoQ4FRX — Nght Captn (@NghtCaptn) January 16, 2018 The people eating #TidePods are the same ones that lick the bus windows pic.twitter.com/OqzTBawoHs — Candace☠ (@Candace0054) January 13, 2018 Hey teenagers, here's the REAL #Tide pod challenge: put it in the washing machine and do your OWN laundry!!!#TidePodChallenge — Baron Von Awesome (@CappyD) January 16, 2018
