TikTok's Ice Cream Throw Challenge Is The Epitome Of Wasteful
Ice cream and TikTok — name a more iconic duo! While there have been plenty of food challenges on the social media platform (hello, Kool-Aid Man), none quite capture the nation's sweet tooth like a good ice cream challenge. While the Grimace shake trend may have been feral, this trend may just be the epitome of wastefulness. In times of both economic hardships and food shortages, wasting a perfectly good ice cream cone seems like a culinary mistake.
Yet, that's what several employees at ice cream shops across America have opted to do, chasing after internet fame and TikTok clout. Sure, it can be argued that this trend is less wasteful than dousing yourself in purple Grimace shake, but all of these ice creams add up. This trend lampoons all those times someone has gotten your order wrong in the service industry. An ice cream shop employee presents the customer with their ice cream, but some element of the order is wrong. When the customer points this out, the cashier responds by throwing the ice cream at their fellow employee's head.
Since all of this is staged, the TikTok challenge is relatively harmless. It would be an entirely different matter if not everyone was in on the joke. However, as the trend grows more popular, more employees are taking part in it, leading to more wasted ice cream.
An ice cream disaster?
Ice cream was never the cheapest dessert, but according to Forbes, prices have recently surged due to manufacturing costs and a rise in demand. It's a shame that so many are purposely wasting ice cream that could have gone to better use.
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Multiple ice cream shops have since taken part in the trend, each putting its own spin on the idea. For instance, this employee at Cherry Hill ended up with a faceful of whipped cream instead. Meanwhile, two employees at Candied Ice Cream waste not one but two scoops of ice cream in the viral challenge. At Fountain of Sunshine, the customer ends up with a faceful of whipped topping instead. To our disdain, the trend has even left ice cream shops and infiltrated other areas such as dentist visits and baseball parks.
Perhaps we're being spoilsports about the entire thing. After all, the ice cream throw is not the worst trend ever spawned from social media, and it's far less dangerous than the Tide Pod challenge (2018 was a strange time). However, we can't help but ask why? It may just be a fun way for stressed-out workers to interject laughter into their schedules, but we can't help but think it's all a little too wasteful.