Here, watch people choke themselves from gulping up water through toilet paper rolls for an internet challenge

Once in a while, the conditions are ripe for natural selection to occur, letting the fitter specimen of the species survive, while the self-sabotaging ones get left behind. 

A new internet trend called the Straw Challenge looks to be a sound method to see how the weak get weeded out. 

Dozens, if not hundreds of folks around the world are clogging up their own throats and gagging for air after attempting to inhale large volumes of water through cardboard toilet paper rolls. Why risk asphyxiation in the first place? Why, for the internet clout, of course. 

As far as internet challenge origins go, it wouldn’t be considered that odd — but it is real cringe-worthy. For some reason, TikTok user Jordan Samm decided to record himself drinking a bottle’s worth of Gatorade through a paper towel roll that he dubbed a “jumbo mega straw”.

This, of course, failed spectacularly. Gagging and choking on the liquid that refused to go down his gullet, the TikTokker decided to just bunch up the soggy cardboard roll into his mouth. 

@jordan.samm

I really wish I can tell you why I ate the straw but I did... ##foryou ##fyp ##viral ##jumbomegastrawchallenge tag me if u do the challenge!!

♬ original sound - jordan.samm

Cringe as hell? Definitely. But it was enough to garner more than 125,000 views and a follow-up video, this time with a smoothie. 

@jordan.samm

I thought no one was home... welp! ##foryou ##fyp ##viral

♬ original sound - jordan.samm

And so the shenanigans began online, with dozens of other TikTok and Twitter users attempting to succeed where Jordan failed. And throughout all the videos, not one of them came close to achieving the unholy task of swallowing all that liquid in one go. 

Parallel felony tried the straw challenge pic.twitter.com/MHlWD8MIYy

— Parallel Evan (@ParalleIEvan) March 9, 2020

Man...She almost drowned ⚰️?? pic.twitter.com/VppHa1yVHI

— ?? (@rahm3sh) March 11, 2020

All of the challengers even looked surprised and shocked that they weren’t able to best the test, resulting in an endless stream of videos in which people retch out their drinks. A dangerous and humiliating stunt for sure — par for the course, really for many viral capers. But at least they’re putting the toilet paper rolls to some use in a time when it’s become so scarce. 

The Big Straw Challenge ?ft. @HighSky pic.twitter.com/NGVlOLOvEE

— Carose (@Caroselol) March 12, 2020

Speaking of dumb things on the internet, another TikTok user went on a whole other tangent with an act that is metaphorically and literally sickening: licking an airplane toilet seat for a so-called “coronavirus challenge”. 

CORONAVIRUS CHALLENGE ?????? ARE YALL OKAY IN THE HEAD SMH WTF ?????? pic.twitter.com/ms80zoNEug

— Serena ₈ ♡ ⁷ ₁₂₇ ? (@hoseoksparkles) March 15, 2020

She didn't seem to be too concerned about catching Covid-19 for real, because her logic is that the virus is a “respiratory infection”. She proved that she’s still pretty fine by, uh, puffing on a Juul. I mean, if she doesn’t get sick from the coronavirus, maybe vaping will.

@avalouiise

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL CDC TEST SO IM GOOD ##foryoupage ##fyp ##fy ##foryou

♬ original sound - avalouiise

Yeap, natural selection. 

ilyas@asiaone.com