The weird and weirder that sent the Internet in a tizzy
The internet is a strange place. As much as it is informative and a means we cannot do without, it is also the source for the most bizarre things to go viral. Truth be told, everyone loves their share of attention, but we can’t seem to wrap our heads around how far will they go to become the next big internet sensation. Most often a lot of the trends that go viral happen by mistake or simply that people who saw it were curious and crazy enough to imitate something they stumbled upon. Looking back, social media experts considered anything that garnered over a million views as ‘viral’. Today one million is a bare minimum with celebrities raking tens of millions followers and stories and videos posted by them and followers getting even more views, likes, reposts, re-enactions, copies and the likes. The big question is how did we become such an internet crazy generation and experts say that this happened when social media platforms like Vine, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, SnapChat and others became an integral part of our daily lives. The easy access to viewing content from around the world at our fingertips has also played an important part in contributing to the viral trend that is sweeping the world and blowing our minds every day. While these viral videos and challenges entertain us and give us a few minutes of happiness, we’re sure there are reasons behind each and every trend, but while we’re on the topic, let’s take a look at some of the craziest acts that are doing the rounds and have everyone talking about them.
Salt Bae
We can’t seem to wrap our heads around how a man became an Internet sensation just by the way he sprinkled salt. Nusret Gökçe who is more popularly known as Salt Bae, is a Turkish chef with properties in Turkey and Abu Dhabi. Currently the most sensual chef on the Internet, Salt Bae broke the internet after posting a dramatic video on Instagram where he demonstrated his apt knife skills and the way he beats, treats and eats his meats. Adding to the drama, was the theatrical finesse which he used to season his meat with a simple condiment like salt. So popular was his video that #SaltBae remains a trend on most social media platforms with just about anyone and everyone recreating his hand movements as a spoof and for their fifteen seconds of fame. The Internet also quickly picked up his sassy demeanour and made thousands of memes based on him. His video was first posted in early January and has since gotten over 8 million views. The number keeps getting higher every day. In fact, there is also a dedicated Twitter page for Salt Bae memes which has over 6,000 followers. His memes are so popular that they have been the inspiration for graffiti around the world and even inspired clothing which was seen sported by Rihanna and Ben Affleck.
We also hear, that besides his fame on the Internet, Salt Bae is a celebrity in the kitchen, with reservations being taken for months in advance and he has had the privilege to serve the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio and the West Ham football club among other high profile diners. But apart from his salt sprinkling skills, he is also going viral for the way he gives his meats a deep tissue massage and removes bones before curing and cooking them. What’s not to love about treating your meat with love, before preparing a steak that’s going to be devoured with love? And did we forget to mention, he’s quite the good looker? No wonder then that the Internet is swooning over this celebrity chef.
Breaking your thumb ligament
If you’re wondering who would be stupid enough to try this based of something that is going around the Internet, well you would be surprised to know that teenagers are going nuts trying this out. It went viral after Twitter user Ryan (@RahSenpai) posted a picture on his account of his friend John who broke his thumb ligament. The two, who are high school seniors in Virginia have been friends since middle school. According to memes that are making the rounds, you are supposed to tuck your thumb into your palm and fling it forward as fast as you can which will break your ligament.
We’ve witnessed a lot of strange trends last year like women comparing their torso’s to A4 paper, the panty challenge and more, but this one takes things to a whole new level of stupid. There is also a sick ‘how to’ guide circulating around the internet which shows people how to break their thumb ligaments. Quite aptly, it’s been called ‘If you are bored: How to break your thumb ligament’. Clearly, a lot of people on the Internet are bored.
Some kids on Twitter even tweeted that they were going to sleep early that night because they wanted to get up early to break their thumb ligament. If that was not enough to blow your mind, John, even got threats from kids who wanted to sue them for what they thought was a broken hand. Scientifically though, it has been proven that by doing this it is not possible to break your hand, although you might cause a ligament to swell or dislocate temporarily. As a result, you will be left with sharp shooting pain along the thumb side of your wrist which is symptomatic of having a case of Quervain’s tendonitis.
Even though it’s been proved not to break your hand, we strongly advice not trying this stunt at home…or anywhere else ever and can’t wait for the Internet to move on from such viral stupidity.
Noodle Bae
Food trends are really dominating the Internet this year and after Salt Bae became an instant hit, it looks like he’s met his rival in the form of Noodle Bae. The chef who has not been named is giving Salt Bae a run for his money with his majestic dance while preparing noodles getting over 80 million views in a matter of days. The chef who is a Chinese native from Chengdu, the capital of south-wester China’s Sichuan province is doing the rounds on the Internet with his signature dance moves. In the video, the chef can be seen waving one extremely long noodle around in the air before he places it in a bowl which is accompanied by an assortment of meat and noodles.
The video which makes preparing the noodles look like a piece of cake and according to some, easier than sprinkling salt, is anything but simple. The chef has taken years of practice and experience to be able to pull at a single strand of dough and make it fly into the pot to be cooked, all while dancing to various genres of music at the same time. His moves are flawless and with every step he takes, he attracts more attention.
Most users on the Internet aren’t just admiring the chef for his skills at dancing with noodles, but for his warmth and love for the art which is evident with every move he makes. Although, we admit, Salt Bae is more the ladies man, we can’t ignore that noodle bae’s got some mad skills that are far more difficult to get right than just sprinkling salt with fancy hand movements.
