Teens around the world are indulging in laundry detergent due to a viral craze challenging them to eat Tide pods.

What may have started as a joke has resulted in several people filming themselves chewing on the convenient, tiny packets, then uploading the videos to Youtube.

A video compilation from The Daily Mail shows several teens putting the colorful pods in their mouths, then chomping down to release the detergent.

Watch: Don’t try this at home!

Don't try this at home! Teens are eating laundry detergent… pic.twitter.com/tMfD6s9dY2 — Adan Salazar (@AdanSalazarWins) January 15, 2018

The meme’s viral nature – no matter how stupid – caused a flood of copycat video uploads, not to mention hospital visits.

One pod-eating Youtube producer, Matthew Lush, received over 150 thousand views.

The Tampa Bay Times describes:

“Okay, I’m not really quite sure how to eat this,” says YouTube personality Matthew Lush while holding one of the pods in a video posted on Dec. 31. “So I’m just going to salt it a little bit.” Yes, he really salts it. Yes, he really bites into it. You hear a “pop” as his teeth puncture the pod’s plastic sack. The soap oozes down his face. He expresses instant regret. He spits it out, screams. “Nooooo,” he squeals.

The meme has become so pervasive that several poison control centers have issued warnings about the dangerous side effects of consuming laundry detergent, which can include death.

“Some children who have gotten the product in their mouths have had excessive vomiting, wheezing and gasping. Some get very sleepy. Some have had breathing problems serious enough to need a ventilator to help them breathe,” reports the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Manufacturer Tide has also had to release a public service announcement advising consumers never to eat the pods.

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. pic.twitter.com/0JnFdhnsWZ — Tide (@tide) January 12, 2018

To summarize – it’s 2018, and companies are having to tell people not to ingest laundry detergent. We are living in Idiocracy.

Follow @AdanSalazarWins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adan.salazar.735

The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!