Five viral challenges that range from fluffy to plain stupid to potentially deadly
Some viral challenges have been for worthwhile causes in the past, but other recent crazes have either been very silly or truly horrifying. We look at these bizarre online fads and how they came about in the first place
Viral challenges are there to be loved or loathed. Some do good – take the 2014 Ice bucket Challenge that raised awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neurone disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Celebrities took up the challenge all over the world, with even Bill Gates accepting Mark Zuckerberg’s offer to do it.
Others, such as the 2016 mannequin challenge where people uploaded videos of themselves looking as though they were frozen in time, are purely for laughs.
Others are just plain dangerous. The current “Boiling Water Challenge” where, yes, you guessed it, people pour boiling hot water on others or themselves as a “prank” on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook is one example.
Here are five other viral challenges that range from the adorable to the horrifying.