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ASMR videos are really popular. Patrick Millsaps, Pat Dixon and Tom Shillue argue whether or not these clips of people whispering are soothing.
Move over ASMR, egg peeling is taking over.
Social media users and professional content creators are testing their dexterity and patience by peeling raw eggs. Unlike its hard-boiled counterpart, this "egg peel challenge" requires fine tools and hours of labor to separate an eggshell from its membrane.
The painstaking process has been documented on popular video-sharing and livestream websites, including TikTok, YouTube and Twitch.
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Many of the egg peel challengers who have left their profiles open for public viewing have received thousands or millions of views per video.
Social media users and professional content creators are testing their dexterity and patience by peeling raw eggs. (iStock)
Toothpicks, cuticle pushers, tweezers and metal blemish extractors are the common tools that are being used to separate the shell and fragile membrane. Some challengers succeed and have a perfectly unshelled egg membrane that’s pale yellow in color while others fail and break into the egg white or yolk.
The videos are often accompanied by music or narration while challengers whittle away piece-by-piece. Challenge participants and viewers have described the activity as being "oddly satisfying," "relaxing" or "fun."
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Doctors and dentists have long practiced egg peeling as a way to develop their surgical skills, but in the last two years people who aren’t in the medical field have been testing it out for themselves. The trend appears to have reached mainstream appeal on TikTok – the app where food trends flourish.
"It's always satisfying to watch people peel things, but I think it's more than that," said Kelsey Weekman, senior internet culture reporter at Yahoo! "There was a period of time in which TikTokers were re-running old footage of a guy wrapping rubber bands around a watermelon until it split in half. I think we're drawn to the tension and to see if people can pull stuff off with high stakes. I also know that this draws a solid live audience, and it's much easier to make money off of a video when it's live than when it's just a typical TikTok post."
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As of Thursday evening, the hashtag #EggPeelChallenge has more than 14.9 million views associated with it on TikTok. The creators who have achieved viral success with their egg peel videos include Thomas Salwasser, Cynyo of The Sea and Dennis Bro.
The hashtag also includes several other user-created videos from people who are trying to understand why egg peeling is a trend or what happens to the egg once peeling is complete.
Egg peeling has spilled over to different social media platforms. Livestreamer and content creator Ludwig Ahgren made a 12-minute video about his egg peeling attempts on YouTube. The activity has been discussed on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Reddit as well.
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"I have seen two people on TikTok trying to peel a raw egg, and they failed multiple times," Salwasser told Fox. "So, I have challenged myself, and it took me 15 attempts to actually succeed once. It’s definitely satisfying to watch and fun to do. It’s very relaxing, although you have to be very patient."
The viral egg peeling trend follows a list of other strange but satisfying internet trends, including ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) – audio-focused broadcasts that stimulate tingling sensations in the scalp; mukbang – audiovisual broadcasts where people eat and interact with fans; and CleanTok –quick-hit TikTok videos where people clean homes and dirty surfaces.
Baruch Labunski, the CEO at Rank Secure – a digital analytics firm – previously told Fox News Digital that media consumers are attracted to content that’s nitty-gritty.
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"They don’t expect polished, scripted content. They want to see regular people tackling regular chores. Bonus points for kids and pets who interrupt...just like real life," Labunski said. "It’s the same for marketing; if you let your authentic self shine through, customers will feel a genuine connection."
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