Stores Are Locking Up Their Tide Pods Because This Meme Has Gone Too Far

16 January 2018, 11:13

Tide Pods
Tide Pods. Picture: Twitter

By James Wilson-Taylor

After kids kept trying to eat them for internet fame, some shop owners have taken to hiding their laundry detergent behind locked doors.

In news that will seriously make you question humanity, stores across the US have begun locking up their supply of Tide Pods after swathes of young people kept purchasing packs of the laundry items in order to eat them and live in internet infamy. Happy 2018 everybody!

Mashable reports that a number of Walmart, Walgreens, Ralph's, and Food 4 Less stores have been keeping Tide Pods behind locked glass doors or in secure plastic blocks normally used on razors or higher-priced items like video games.

The recent popularity of a meme about wanting to eat the "forbidden fruit" aka detergent sacks is what has led some people (well, YouTubers) to actually attempt to ingest the pods, with Tide themselves forced to release several warnings against putting actual cleaning fluid in your mouth.

This stupid challenge is clearly what has led to the added security measures in stores, although makers Proctor and Gamble told Mashable that "Individual retailers decide how to shelve products, often making decisions on a store-by-store basis. We do know that some Tide products have been in secure shelving in some retailers prior to the recent social media conversations." Walmart meanwhile believe the locks are unrelated to the recent eating craze.

Basically, stop eating detergent guys. This has got wayyyy out of hand.