Trends have been around forever, shaping our culture to define what’s cool and hip. And we all have tried some of these out to fit in our friends’ groups, right?
Some trends are awesome, while others make you scratch your head in confusion. One Redditor asked, “What was the worst trend that has ever existed?”
This thread received thousands of comments, and we have compiled a list of the top 20 worst trends for you! So, let’s explore them together.
1. Gallon Smashing
One user explained this trend by commenting, “Gallon Smashing ‘prank’ where a person would purposely drop gallons of milk in a grocery store while making it look like an accident, leaving a huge mess for some poor supermarket employee to clean up.”
Another one expressed their dislike of this trend by replying, “I can’t believe this was a thing. So dumb and wasteful. All these social media pranks I’ve seen over the year are terrible.”
Talk about wasting food, time, and money! Sounds foolish, right?
2. The Knockout Challenge
A Redditor commented, “I don’t know if anyone has posted this already, but I recall a while ago there was something called the “knockout challenge” or “knockout game.” It basically involved a bunch of teenagers and even adults walking or running up to someone, usually on the streets, and hitting them as hard as they could in the face with a closed fist, hoping to knock them out.”
Do you think this trend was just a stunt for social media views and likes? Did you ever witness the ‘Knockout Game’ yourself?
3. Licking Grocery Items
Now this is one of the most disgusting trends you’ll ever come across!
For this, people visit their local grocery stores, open lids of food items, lick them, and put them back! Now, who would want to eat something like that?
Someone commented, “Ugh, I saw some girl licking muffins and got upset when she was called out on it. That’s a felony in a lot of states (not sure if it’s all of them). The girl that was licking Blue Bell ice cream then putting it back ended up with jail time if I’m not mistaken.”
Another one replied, “I thought pranks were supposed to be funny…this is just nasty.”
And nasty it is!
4. The Fire Challenge
Buckle up! This is one of the most dangerous trends ever to exist.
A user explained this challenge by saying, “The fire challenge where these kids were pouring acetone on themselves then lighting themselves on fire. Apparently, it was supposed to be a short burning sensation, but as you’d expect, there were kids who got seriously injured from the burns, and a mom who recorded her son doing the challenge even got arrested after being reported to social services.”
Another confused yet horrified Redditor replied, “I don’t know why they put it on your own skin.”
5. The Train Track Jump
One person said, “The one where people were trying to jump away from moving trains last second.”
Now this is a near-death experience if you aren’t quick enough to jump on time!
Another one replied, “Kids are naturally stupid because of a lack of ability to predict consequences. These kinds of deaths don’t actually clean out the gene pool because kids are stupid.”
Do you think kids are foolish to try out this trend?
6. Foot Binding
For those of you who don’t know about this trend, a user summarizes it by commenting, “Foot binding. That practice in China where they break and bind young girls’ feet to make them more feminine.”
Sounds vile, right? Redditors seem to think so too. One replied on this thread, “I guess that’s a trend. But I would describe it more as a (horrible) cultural practice/tradition.”
Do you think anyone would go through that much pain to look more beautiful and feminine?
7. Eating Egyptian Mummies
Eating Egyptian mummies? Now that’s a trend that’s sure to leave you with a raised eyebrow and a stomach full of confusion.
One user said, “For me, I’ll never be able to process the fad in the Victorian era of EATING EGYPTIAN MUMMIES. Never will that stuff not send me right back to pure disbelief, horror, and confusion.”
But believe it or not, there was a time when people actually believed that consuming Egyptian mummies had some medicinal or mystical benefits!
8. X-Ray Parties
A Redditor explained, “People would get together X-Ray themselves and each other exposing themselves to huge amounts of radiation.”
Now this can be extremely dangerous for your skin leading to Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) or Cutaneous Radiation Injuries (CRI) and even cancer!
So, the next time you’re thinking of throwing a party, maybe skip the X-ray machine and stick to good old-fashioned games.
9. The Tape Worm Diet
Here’s the thing: this diet trend wasn’t just bizarre; it was downright dangerous.
One user says, “People would give themselves a tapeworm to lose weight, then drink kerosene to kill the tapeworm.”
Talk about a drastic approach to shedding those extra pounds!
10. The Choking Challenge
Now this is exactly what it sounds like!
A Redditor said, “If challenges count, then the TikTok choking challenge where people died.”
Another one elaborated, “If you’re talking about where you have your friends choke you out against a wall, that was a Vine trend that’s stuck around.”
Someone else shared their personal experience and replied, “It’s even earlier than that; it was going around my middle school in the early 2000s for a couple of weeks. I think I remember hearing that people died from it, and people mostly stopped.”
11. Lip Fillers
via DepositPhotos.com.
This Reddit user commented, “Lip fillers.”
Now, this trend really makes us wonder: Are we getting caught up in a never-ending pursuit of perfection? Or are we simply going to embrace our natural beauty?
One person said, “I’m totally, 100% with you on this view. Every ethnicity and race has natural traits that are simply gorgeous. Everyone can appreciate these traits, but appropriating them because of a fad is just awful on several levels.”
12. Overuse and Misuse of Information
Now we have all come across people who overuse words like ‘crazy’ to the point where it has lost all meaning. Or inaccurately diagnosing themselves with serious disorders to seem cool!
Someone said,” Overusing terms like gaslighting, bipolar, or a narcissist to where they’ve lost meaning. Someone disagreeing with you isn’t gaslighting, having a change of mood isn’t bipolar, and your ex may have been mean, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a narcissist. As someone who’s autistic, I also don’t like the similar trend of people self-diagnosing. There’s nothing wrong with looking up symptoms for mental disorders, learning difficulties, etc., if you go to your doctor. But lots of people don’t; they simply decide they have all these problems.”
Another user commented, “The worst is OCD. “Oh, I have to make my bed every morning. It’s my OCD.” THAT’S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS.”
13. Random Planking
For those who blissfully missed out on this mind-numbing trend, let me fill you in: people used to lie face down in the most random and uncomfortable places possible to take a photo in that position.
Yes, you read that right. People willingly threw themselves onto the ground, be it on a park bench, a supermarket aisle, or even a traffic-ridden street. And for what? Likes on social media?
One user said, “Particularly, planking in random or dangerous locations.”
Another one added, “It was fun! Until people started doing it in stupid places….. ((OMG THE ESCALATORS BRO))”
14. The Kardashians
Now this trend has sparked countless debates and eye rolls. The Kardashian family has surely built an empire, capitalized on their fame, and created successful businesses. Kudos to them for that!
However, it’s the cultural influence and the trends they’ve popularized that are up for discussion.
One Redditor said, “The entire Kardashians empire.”
Another user responded, “Criminally underrated answer.”
Are you still ‘keeping up with the Kardashian,’ or were they just a trendy phase for you?
15. Thin Eyebrows
Looking back, it’s hard not to cringe at the sight of those over-plucked, barely-there brows.
One person commented, “Pencil-thin eyebrows. Daf*q was that?”
Someone else shared a hilarious outlook on this trend: “Some girls still do that, oddly enough. They look permanently surprised!”
Fortunately, as with any trend, the thin eyebrows craze eventually faded away like yesterday’s news.
16. The Slapping Challenge
One Redditor said, “Happy Slapping was a trend in the UK back in 2005 where you would slap a random person hard and video it. It usually turned into a fight if the person that got slapped reacted. I’m pretty sure it lead to a few deaths.”
Why would anyone think it’s a good idea to go around slapping people for the sake of internet fame? Now this trend is just a slap in the face to common sense!
17. Stealing Toilets
Someone said, “That Tiktok trend several months ago where people stole toilets and stuff from schools.”
Hold up! Stealing toilets? What’s happening to this generation?
Another one added, “Property damage and theft. There was no point. It was recording yourself committing crimes.”
Someone else shared a personal experience: “The devious lick. I was thinking about that. Somebody stole our school’s toilet seat. Like what benefits are you possibly getting out of that?”
18. The Benadryl Challenge
Here’s the catch: this challenge involves taking excessive amounts of Benadryl, in some cases, dangerously high doses.
One Redditor said, “basically swallowing a ton of Benadryl.”
Like, seriously, who in their right mind thinks it’s a good idea to mess around with medication like that?
What trendsetters fail to see are the heart problems that come along. And yes, we’re talking about seizures and death!
19. Mom Jeans
Hopping onto one of the most famous fashion trends that have divided the masses: mom jeans!
One user unzips this denim disaster and says, “Those mom jeans. They were terrible in the 80’s. Even more terrible now.”
Another user added, “I’m glad someone typed this so I didn’t have to”
20. Hitting Children
Someone commented, “Physical punishment (getting hit by your parents) in the last 100 years. Like trust me, I was hit by my parents like daily. And those crazy people brought in like desks and stuff, but there’s this thin line where you see how it can and does get even worst. But genuinely, people who actually hit their kids are weird.”
Do you think it is justifiable to hit children?
20 Things That Boomers Love That Are Hard For Us To Understand
There is a ton of stuff old people do that the younger generation doesn’t seem to wrap their heads around. However, it is a pattern, and everyone who gets old ends up doing the same things they couldn’t understand when they were young.
20 Things That Boomers Love That Are Hard for Us To Understand
11 Crimes Against Style That Men Need To Stop, According To Women
Fashion is a powerful way to express oneself and can significantly impact how others perceive us, wrong or not. However, not all fashion choices are created equal, and men commit some egregious fashion faux pas, which drives some women crazy!
11 Crimes Against Style That Men Need to Stop, According to Women
10 Crazy Myths About Women Men Actually Believe
In our society, many myths and stereotypes exist about women. Unfortunately, some men still believe in these myths, even though they have been debunked time and time again. Here are some of the crazy myths that men believe about women.
10 Crazy Myths About Women Men Actually Believe
20 Things We Thought Were Awesome As Kids But Actually Are Pretty Terrible Now
As children, we experienced many things that seemed magical and exciting. However, as we grow up, we realize that some of those things aren’t as great as we remember them to be. They are just not as fun as adults.
20 Things We Thought Were Awesome As Kids but Actually Are Pretty Terrible Now
20 Legal Things That Will Hopefully Be Illegal In The Next 20 Years
In today’s modern world of legalities and regulations for everything, there are certain things that people are eager to see illegalized in the next two decades, despite the complex legal landscape or things people think will become illegal in America.
20 Legal Things That Will Probably (Hopefully) Be Illegal in the Next 20 Years
This article was produced and syndicated by A Dime Saved.
