Millennials Are Trying to Vape Tide Pods Because of a Viral Meme

Updated Oct. 4 2018, 11:54 a.m. ET

I’d like to think that as a species, we’re ultimately becoming smarter. 

There are some amazing technological advancements that we’ve enjoyed over the past decade or so. I mean if you were to show me the cell phone that I have in my pocket right now back when I was 18, I’d swear it was a work of science fiction. Yet here we are. 

Now you’d think that all of these incredible strides we’ve taken would propel us forward into a greater consciousness and ability to accomplish more as a species. 

But unfortunately, this isn’t the case for all humans. America, for example, keeps falling behind in terms of academic achievement when compared to other industrialized countries. 

But one of the clearest signs of our dumbing down, as a whole, is that young kids are not only eating Tide Pods — they’re vaping them. 

The whole Tide Pod fiasco began when people started talking about how good they look. 

I mean if you’ve ever held one in your hand it does feel kind of amazing. Also, the colors of them, the squishiness, the portability factor. 

Actually, it could kill you, but that hasn’t stopped some people from chomping down on them. 

In fact, adults are guilty of eating them too, with fatal results.

Vaping the pods takes the whole thing to the next level. Instagram user tardasskittytit, a professional vaper (yes, that’s a thing) made a Tide Pod vaping video as a joke and warned people not to do it, but he's since taken the clip down after some backlash.

But in all honesty, if people are capable of doing this: 

They’re probably capable of squeezing detergent into their electronic cigarette and toking up just to see the effects. 

I mean just look at some of these memes about the soap eating craze. 

Sifting through them online, you'll find a bunch of horrifying ones.

But some are surprisingly funny. 

Let’s just hope this dapper lad didn’t chew the actual pod. 

It’s worth mentioning that most people are spoofing the challenge (like our friend above) and aren’t actually biting down on the poisonous little capsules. 

They’re just using the craze to come up with some awesome memes. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first dangerous challenge to go viral. 

The deodorant challenge has people attacking their bodies with spray-on deodorant until it burns their skin. 

Then there’s the hot water challenge, which, well, see for yourself. 

Many of them could be faked, but in some cases, it wasn’t, and lead to life-threatening injuries for some people. 

Humanity’s doomed. Also, please do NOT try this at home!

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