Recently, the Internet has been plagued by a “Tide Pod Challenge” in which teenagers and young adults eat the poisonous pods of laundry detergent for Internet fame. According to the Washington Post, there have been 37 reported cases of consuming Tide Pods in 2018 so far among teenagers, half of them intentional.

For some reason, people decided that biting into Tide Pods was a good idea. It’s not. The idea of Tide Pods as a “forbidden snack” became a popular meme in 2017. Some took the jokes too seriously and began eating them in videos online. Tide Pod Memes are memes for a reason. Memes are intended to be comical and ridiculous, causing their popularity. They should not be taken seriously.

Do not eat Tide Pods. First of all, there is nothing appealing about the taste of highly concentrated laundry detergent. Parents are warned to keep the pods away from small children who may confuse it for candy but no one expected adults to begin intentionally consuming them. The pods are soap intended to clean clothes, not sweets to be eaten.

Not only is it unwise to consume detergent pods but it can also be deadly. Effects of eating a pod can include changes in blood pressure and heart rate, loss of consciousness and seizures.

Despite the bright colors and comical appeal of detergent pods, they should not be bitten into or eaten for any reason, especially not a dumb joke. Use common sense and don’t intentionally poison yourself for a meme. Tide pods are for clothes, not food.