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Library/Meme & format/Tide Pod challenge
Grade A26 sourcesHIS-01480

Tide Pod challenge

Meme & format · 2013 · Notable

53Editable slideCertificate

Tide Pod jokes became a safety scare; Meltwater later reported 2 million hashtag mentions.

alex

@mineifiwildout_ · Dec 9, 2017

no more eating xanax in 2018 we eating tide pods from now on

17.9K44
Post · @mineifiwildout_ on X

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

@USCPSC · Jan 13, 2018

Please don't eat laundry pods. Learn more ways to #preventpoison bit.ly/2CvLKY1

3.9K294
Post · @USCPSC on X
Clip · Dropout on YouTube

Tide

@tide · Jan 12, 2018

What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else. Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA, and we asked our friend @robgronkowski to help explain.

131.8K5.4K
Post · @tide on X
Tide Pods Laundry Detergent Capsules
Austin Kirk / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
A Tide detergent capsule photographed in 2016; CC BY 2.0.
Pete / comedy_nose
What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else. Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA, and we asked our friend @robgronkowski to help explain.
@tide on X
Kids got sick eating detergent long before the Tide Pod Challenge
PBS NewsHour
Please don't eat laundry pods. Learn more ways to #preventpoison
@USCPSC on X
Tide POD Challenge | Know Your Meme
Know Your Meme

Spread Score

How it works
Reach47ContagionNo data yetBreadth90Velocity40Longevity2553

Numbers

Observed peak date
Week of Jan 26, 2018
Dec 5 ’13 to Week of Jan 26, 2018
Platforms
8
Started on Open web
Origin
Organic
Culture (no sector)

Mechanics

  • Challenge
  • Platform jump
  • Press loopPrimary
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

Jokes spread through forums, satire and tweets. Challenge videos prompted safety warnings and removals. Five Wikipedia titles had their combined seven-day high in the week ending January 26 within the January-February window.

Observed peak within the documented measurement window; not an all-time maximum. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesSep ’13DecNov ’14Oct ’15Jul ’16Apr ’17JulNovFeb ’18AugMar ’19Observed peakOpen webPressYouTubeRedditXTVRetailAudio
Open webPressYouTubeRedditXTVRetailAudio

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. December 2013

    Silvorange seed · Dec 5 ’13

    Silvorange opened a forum thread about eating Tide pods and joked about having some in the laundry room.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. December 2015

    The Onion platform jump · Dec 8 ’15

    The Onion published a toddler's fictional vow to eat multicolored detergent pods.[2]

  3. March 2017

    CollegeHumor platform jump · Mar 31 ’17

    CollegeHumor released a sketch about a man tempted to eat laundry pods after being warned against it.[3][4]

    Tide POD Challenge | Know Your Meme

  1. platform jump · Jul 10 ’17

  2. platform jump · Dec 9 ’17

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Why it worked

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  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

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Origin
Organic
Sector
Culture (no sector)
Region
US
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade A

Spread the same way

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New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.