Tide Pods were the king of the forbidden candies. The items that looked delicious despite being disgusting or poisonous if you actually bit into one. For a few months in 2018, it seemed like the biggest threat to American teenagers was the temptation to participate in the Tide Pod challenge, i.e., bite into the gusher-like laundry pod on camera before calling poison control. Local news was all over the story, police were making videos warning teens of the dangers, an NFL star made a PSA. But, was this actually a real problem? Were teens across the country really this gullible? Was anyone actually being hurt or dying because they ate a Tide Pod?
Our guest PJ Vogt is the host of Search Engine. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can follow him otherwise @PJVogt.
Credits
- Host: Ryan Broderick
- Producer: Grant Irving
- Researcher: Adam Bumas
- Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad