Recently, the people of Sheffield have been waking up to something just a little bit strange.

Someone has been out and about during the hours of the night stapling pieces of white bread to trees around the South Yorkshire city.

Exactly why they've been doing that remains fairly unclear still, but it is most likely part of an unusual - and seemingly pointless - craze that has been sweeping the globe.

Reddit, more like bread-dit, amirite? Credit: Reddit

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One local resident explained: "There is a curious development in Brincliffe Gardens.

"This week the trees on the north side of the road have been 'decorated' by persons unknown with slices of white bread which have been stapled in place.

"They are on the north side of the road and on the north east sides of the trees. Is this part of some weird new cult?"

Well, whoever you are, local resident, you might not be a million miles away from the truth with that.

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Interesting tree to bread ratio, here. Credit: Reddit

You see, stapling bits of bread to trees is not only something that is taking place in Sheffield. It's sort of a web phenomenon.

OK, so it's hardly as ubiquitous as things like the Harlem Shake (remember that?) or planking, but it has occurred all around the world.

Instances of this bizarre practice are compiled together in one place on Reddit, where there is a page that is aptly titled 'Bread Stapled To Trees'.

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Where else, eh?

Can't help but feel these man hours could be better spent. Credit: Reddit

In fact, there are around 211,000 members of that particular subreddit. It was created back in 2017, and since then people have been sharing their efforts with the world.

If you've got a minute, head on over and look at some of them. People have been getting creative with which types of bread they use, and which types of tree they staple them to.

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All you need to get involved is a loaf, and a stapler. It's less dangerous than the salt and ice challenge, and requires no-one to ingest any clothes detergent whatsoever.

With that in mind, we can't whole-heartedly say 'don't try this' because it's probably not doing that much harm.

Ah, the classic three stapler. Good work. Credit: Reddit

Bread ain't great for birds, but they'll definitely eat it. Perhaps that's a reason not to do it?

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But that aside, if you were thinking about taking your Toastie loaf out with the specific intention of affixing it to some foliage, then go ahead.

But, while you do, don't ask yourself 'should I?'

Ask yourself 'why?'