Night Archives on Instagram: "The Tide Pod Challenge emerged in late 2017 as a bizarre internet trend. It began with memes joking that the brightly colored laundry detergent pods looked like candy. The joke spread rapidly across social media platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube. Soon, some teenagers took the joke further, filming themselves biting into or eating Tide Pods. These videos quickly went viral, gaining millions of views but sparking outrage from parents, health officials, and t