Ever since the cinnamon challenge peaked in popularity in the early 2010s, people have been filming themselves trying, and failing, to ingest a spoonful of cinnamon. That is, until Gen Z recently revitalized the trend, proving they’re just built differently.


“What the hell is going on?” this boy’s mother yells in shock. “He just really ate cinnamon?” Shanti Star’s clip of her little brother now has 3.7 million views on TikTok, and people can’t believe the ease with which he ingested the cinnamon. “They gotta be making the cinnamon different now or something, cuz ain’t no way,” one person commented. “They patched this glitch,” someone else said.



They were probably expecting it to look a little more like these infamous examples.




Like with the dangerous Tide Pod challenge, people on the internet have been ingesting hazardous substances for views since its inception. But this boy’s triumph over the cinnamon challenge has given birth to a new theory. “I think we evolved to survive this,” one person commented.



It makes sense. Survival of the fittest no longer carries the same meaning in a world of material surplus and cyberspace vacancy. The trait most valued is that of virality, and those who can conquer it have the best chance of passing down their influential genes. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before children really will be able to eat Tide Pods, walk on milk crates, or swallow spoonfuls of cinnamon.