SOYONG, OP
Netizens these days take on each other in friendly ‘challenges’ on the Internet. We have seen challenges that require you to stay motionless, lie down, execute crazy dances, and pour ice water over yourself. Recently, Olympic silver medallist and Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs & Sports, challenged Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli, badminton champ Saina Nehwal and actor Hrithik Roshan over fitness.
Orissa POST brings you a list of some top challenges that went viral on the Internet, including some that could be potentially hazardous to accept.
First challenge on the Internet
Although there is no conclusive proof of the first Internet challenge, the Cinnamon challenge seems to be the first one as it hit the Internet around 2001 through pictures only, peaking in popularity in the spring of 2012. The challenge itself was simple: Swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon powder without water or any liquid drink. It seems easy initially, but then the throat becomes dry and the powder may even go into the wind pipe. Therefore, it is a challenge fraught with hazards. While curious youngsters took up the Cinnamon challenge, it must be underlined that there is a potential risk of choking that people who take up the challenge must be aware of.
Salt and ice challenge
The salt and ice challenge arrived in the form of a video on Break.com, the first visual challenge on Internet. It involves dousing your body in salt and rubbing ice on it causing a burning sensation on the skin and tests your tolerance. In 2012, a child in Pittsburg suffered second-degree burns as a result, and that probably marked the downfall of this challenge. The pictures published on the Internet are gory and several people have advised Google against displaying such pictures. Obviously, no one should accept the salt and ice challenge at any time, no matter what.
Banana Sprite challenge
The Banana Sprite challenge emerged in 2012. The challenge asks the participant to consume two bananas and a litre of the soft drink Sprite in quick succession without vomiting. Consuming large quantities of food and aerated drink at a short interval often makes the participant vomit. The challenge was a big hit with YouTubers.
Condom challenge
The first Condom challenge video introduced on YouTube in May of 2012 was a huge hit. The challenge involved inserting a latex condom into the nostril and snorting it out of the nasal cavity into the mouth. The challenge gained popularity in 2013, when ‘World Star Hip Hop’ posted a video of two young women accepting the challenge, and other YouTubers, who began to try the stunt, subsequently uploaded videos on the Internet. The stunt poses potential choking hazards.
The water condom challenge, which hit the Internet in 2015, involved dropping a water-filled condom over someone’s head. The challenger had to ensure that the balloon does not bounce.
Yoga challenge
Yoga challenge introduced in 2017 is meant to test a person’s physical agility and mental stamina. The participant is expected to post pictures on social media on a daily basis demonstrating various Yoga postures and stretching exercises. Workout conscious youths accept the challenge and some accost their friends and relatives to take up the challenge on the social media. Several people shared pictures of yoga seasons online on a daily basis. Practicing yoga for long and taking up the challenge for prolonged periods is a tough task.
Ice bucket challenge
The most memorable recent challenge on the Internet was the ice bucket challenge. It is a charity-driven effort wherein a person tags three others on social media, challenging them either to donate $100 to the ALS Association, or advises them to douse themselves with a bucket of ice-cold water while filming the action. The challenge had tagged celebrities like Amy Schumer, Conan O’Brien, Bill Gates, Emmy Rossum, Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Spielberg, Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez among others. Many people chose to donate and the challenge ended up raising over $115 million for the ALS Association.
Book bucket challenge
The Book bucket challenge originated in India and is an online challenge where people share the names of ten books that inspired them on their social networking pages, or donate books to the needy and share photos of this with friends on social networking sites. The challenge started off with One Library Per Village (OLPV), an NGO based in Kerala working towards promoting digital literacy in villages. OLPV believes that the book challenge will ultimately lead to more number of books in the hands of the needy, thereby creating a positive social impact. The Book bucket challenge has already spread to other nations like Canada, Vietnam and Bangladesh. If there is a moral to the story, it’s that not all challenges are bad.
Eraser challenge
In the Eraser challenge, one vigorously rubs an eraser on the skin while reciting a certain phrase or the alphabet. The apparent goal of the challenge was to see how long the participants can continue. They then compare their wounds. It can be pretty harmful because you are inflicting an injury on your skin and you can introduce bacteria into your skin, which can lead to an infection.
Mannequin challenge
The Mannequin challenge is a viral Internet video trend which became popular in November 2016 in which people remain frozen in action like mannequins while a moving camera films them, usually with the song ‘Black Beatles’ by Rae Sremmurd playing in the background. The hashtag #MannequinChallenge was used for popular social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. It is believed that the phenomenon was started by students at Ed White High School in Jacksonville. A number of notable sports teams, including collegiate and professional, as well as sports personalities, have engaged in the challenge and posted increasingly complex and elaborate videos.
Fitness challenge
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore started the fitness challenge with hastag ‘HumFitTohIndiaFit’ which is trending on the social media site, Twitter. Rathore shared a video of himself doing push-ups in his office and urged people to post pictures and videos about how they keep themselves fit and send a fitness challenge to their friends on social media. The first to accept the challenge was Hrithik Roshan. The actor posted a video of himself commuting to office on a cycle. Later, Virat Kohli joined the challenge, posting a video of his workout session and challenging his wife Anushka Sharma and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accept the fitness challenge. The challenge went viral. Actors Amitabh Bachchan and Tiger Shroff, sportspersons Babita Phogat and Suresh Raina, business tycoon Anand Mahindra and athlete PT Usha, among others, are in the race to show their fitness regimen.
Some of these challenges are fun; but others pose serious hazards. And those taking up the dangerous challenges would be well advised to be aware of the hazards. Such challenges are best avoided.
