× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

What happens if you throw a slice of cheese at a baby's face?

Some babies laugh and shake it off. Others grimace, stumble around blindly, recoil like they've been hit by a truck, flail their arms, or stare reproachfully at the cheese-thrower. Some eat the cheese. Generally, all look confused.

We know this thanks to a week-old viral phenomenon called the "cheese challenge," in which people toss shiny slices of processed cheese at unsuspecting infants and share their reactions on social media. Depending on whom you ask, it's either extremely hilarious or proof that the internet should never have been invented.

According to Eater, the craze started with Charles Amara, a dad in Michigan. Last Tuesday he posted a short video on his Facebook page, captioning it "Attack of the cheese Episode 2" and adding, "He wasn't happy after this one." In it, a baby seated in a high chair and clutching a sippy cup looks increasingly nervous as a luminous yellow slice of cheese gets closer and closer, then lands squarely on his face. Remarkably, the slice — which has not been identified but resembles Kraft Singles, a processed American cheese — proves to be extremely adhesive. As the baby blinks, his facial expressions revealing what seems to be a mixture of surprise and dismay, the cheese remains firmly plastered to his face, covering his nose and right eyelid.