Rolling Glass Bottles Down Stairs Is The Wasteful TikTok Trend We Don't Need

Aug 14, 2023

As we all know, TikTok is rife with weird trends, but arguably some of the worst involve people wasting food just for views. The U.S. alone wastes about 120 billion pounds of food each year, with a portion of that coming from social media influencers making disturbing recipes they never intend to eat (such as TikTok's viral mayo pasta salad), or worse, simply destroying food for fun.

Among these wasteful trends is that of rolling glass jars and bottles down stairs. Entire TikTok accounts are dedicated to this particular trend, labeling it as "ASMR" and "satisfying." TikTok user RachaPotes, for instance, has collected 2.5 million followers and nearly 37 million likes from their 25 videos of rolling glass containers down what appears to be a granite stairwell.

In each of these videos, participants take glass jars of perfectly good food and send them rolling down the stairs, the glass often shattering within seconds. All of that food, whether it's olives, wine, or pasta sauce, is automatically ruined, as no one can consume it after it's been splattered across the stairs.

We get it. The sound and sight of a glass jar rolling down a set of stairs can be satisfying. However, enjoying this trend doesn't have to go hand-in-hand with enabling influencers to waste food for more views. For instance, the aforementioned TikToker, RachaPotes, also has several videos using glass jars full of marbles or water beads — filler items that aren't meant to be eaten and therefore aren't being wasted. These videos still give the same effect as the jars filled with store-bought pickles, but without contributing to the billions of tons of waste in landfills.

BOTTLE ON THE STAIRS #asmrsounds #asmrtiktoks #asmr

♬ som original – RachaPotes

Similarly, Bush's Beans hopped on the trend but rolled canned baked beans down the stairs instead. The can provides an equally satisfying sound. Assuming the can remains undamaged after its tumble, its contents are safe to consume. If you must support this trend, we encourage you to use empty jars or cans or get your ASMR fix by tapping on a glass Coca-Cola bottle.