TikTok's 2-Ingredient 'Horrible Soup' Bubbles Eternally

When you think of soup, you might think of hot stewed veggies or virus-busting creamy chicken soup recipes bubbling away on the stove, with homemade crusty bread lathered in salted butter to dip. You might think of the heartiest, most comforting soup you've ever had in a restaurant — like this viral unlimited Icelandic soup described as the best in the world by visitors.

What you probably won't think of are sweet and fizzy flavors, like soda or candy. But these are unfortunately the ingredients that make up TikTok's latest creation — a concoction that looks more like a kid's attempt at making a potion when left home alone than anything a self-respecting adult would consume by choice.

The TikTok video posted is labeled "this is my invention: horrible soup". Over 263,000 people have liked the video which shows fruit snacks submerged in a bowl filled with what is only described as "Sprite broth."

People are rightfully slamming the unusual "soup," if we can even call it that, in the TikTok's comments section. "New battery acid recipe," one person commented. "Why is it gurgling?" asked another commenter. Many were quick to point out the brew's resemblance to healing items in video games, or other magical or witchy items — especially as the nature of the soda means it essentially continues to bubble eternally. "Bubbling like an awful concoction brewed in a large pot," another person said.

Some people, however, seemed to be equal parts horrified and curious. "What possessed you to do this? And what's possessing me that I kinda wanna try it?" Plenty of people suggested switching the fruit snacks out for sour patch kids instead — as if this would do anything at all to improve the unusual snack. Either way, the video has certainly proven divisive and amassed a substantial amount of attention.

Why are these kinds of TikTok videos trending in the first place? At first glance, could this be an example of a rat snack — a quick and dirty snack that many of us enjoy, shamefully, in private? Well, we doubt anyone is reaching for the Sprite when they've got a food craving. But it could be related to the rise in absurd and unusual food content on the platform designed deliberately to incite and anger viewers.

For example, The Verge reported in 2022 that "rage bait chefs” are taking off on TikTok — whereby content creators are deliberately making disgusting or polarizing foods such as chocolate covered ramen or fried mayonnaise to gain viral attention, whether this be positive or negative. This video is also a pretty great example of TikTok's collectively bizarre and surreal humor — perhaps even commenting on and transcending the original rage bait trend.

It seems plausible then, that the "horrible soup" could have been created for a similar reason, or maybe it was just a joke and a harmless bit of fun. Either way, we're not in a rush to try it anytime soon.