23 days into 2018, and tide pods are one of the biggest trends. People are talking about tide pods, making memes about tide pods, and even eating tide pods. That’s right, eating tide pods.

A tide pod is a small, colorful, laundry detergent pod created to make laundry easier. However, this “tide pod challenge” has nothing to do with laundry. People record themselves taking bites of the pods, and then spitting out the toxic and poisonous contents they just ingested.

In 2012, National Capital Poison Center released a warning that laundry pods may look like candy to young children, and that parents should keep them out of reach. USA Today reported in 2012 and 2013 that an average of 1 child a day was sent to the hospital because of exposure to the laundry packets. This laundry pod issue was initially with children who mistook detergent for candy because they did not know any better, but has now spread to teens. Anyone who thinks through what they do should know not to eat what you clean your clothes with, yet the tide pod challenge is only getting bigger.

Both YouTube and Facebook have said they will remove any content posted that has to do with the tide pod challenge, and Tide themselves posted a video with New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski dejecting the challenge. While the jokes were funny at first, ingesting toxic chemicals is very dangerous, and it is hoped that this challenge will soon come to an end.

https://www.poison.org/articles/2012-aug/laundry-detergent-pods-and-children

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/10/laundry-pods-child-hospital/18663007/