A Viral TikTok Culinary Creation Called Sleepy Chicken Is Disgusting And Dangerous, Just Don’t
Similar to the now-defunct platform Vine, TikTok has had some great memes, dances, and other things come of it. However, the opposite is also true on the platform, with dangerous challenges and dumb ideas coming about on a regular basis. The "Sleepy Chicken" challenge falls into the latter group, as people record themselves braising chicken in Nyquil "as a remedy for the cold and flu."
Though this trend is not new and may have begun as more of a meme in the last few years, it has persisted and TikTok is now taking down many of the videos and warning users. Subsequently, if you search for "Nyquil Chicken" on the platform, the site will show you a link to "Learn how to recognize harmful challenges and hoaxes." This is likely due to doctors and the powers that be wanting to hold the platform partially responsible for what is being posted.
Dr. Aaron Hartman, physician and assistant clinical professor of family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, recently spoke with the International Business Times about this trend. He explained that "If you ate one of those cutlets completely cooked, it'd be as if you're actually consuming a quarter to half a bottle of NyQuil." Moreover, if faithfully reenacted, the cooking process shown in some of the videos could lead to users getting food poisoning from woefully undercooked chicken and inhaling noxious Nyquil fumes.
You'd think that some social media trends wouldn't need any warnings or explanation considering how outright absurd and obviously dangerous they are. However, we have also seen people munch on Tide Pods, ingest a spoonful of cinnamon, and do other dumb things for views and likes on social media.