The Tide Pod Challenge
Miami, Fl, USA – October 16, 2013: A close up shot of an open fish bowl shaped plastic vessel containing 62 Tide Brand Pods capsules. Each dissolvable capsule consists of pre- measured amounts of detergent,stain remover and brightener for one load of laundry.
Videos circulating on social media are showing kids biting into brightly colored liquid laundry-detergent packets and then chewing them up before spewing the soap from their mouths. The meme may have begun life as a 2015 article by parody news site The Onion. A follow-up published at the end of last year, headlined ‘Tide Debuts New Sour Apple Detergent Pods’. It tells on real-life scary stories about children accidentally eating detergent pods, comically claiming that the brand has unveiled a new flavor to keep the kids entertained. So far in 2018, there have been 37 reported cases among teenagers－half of them intentional, according to the data. Children who have been exposed to the capsules have been hospitalized with vomiting, breathing difficulties and loss of consciousness. It gets much worse. Children and teens can aspirate on the liquid by inhaling it into their lungs, or they can become ill by ingesting it－experiencing a change in blood pressure and heart rate, losing consciousness or having seizures. In all seriousness, don’t eat your laundry detergent kids.
