We all have hidden talents, don’t we? Some of us can wiggle our ears (hey, no autographs, please!), others can touch their nose with their tongue, and a select few can even solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded.
Now, while most of us aren’t secretly harboring Olympic-level skills, every so often someone pulls off something so jaw-dropping that it demands global recognition — or at least a viral moment on social media. Cue a recent TikTok revelation that’s been making the rounds thanks to user @__jessrogers. In her video, a woman yanks a TNT bag from under various items without causing a single disaster.
Starting with a tiny lip gloss, she places it on the bag and then, with a flourish that would make David Copperfield proud, she yanks the bag away, leaving the lip gloss standing tall and unperturbed. With each new challenge, she ups the ante, moving on to increasingly larger and heavier objects. A whiskey glass? Child’s play. A wine bottle? Easy peasy. A flower vase? Yawn. A utensil holder? Please. And then, as if to prove that she’s not bound by the laws of mere mortals, she casually places a SodaStream machine on the bag and whips it away with the effortless grace of a ballet dancer.
What sorcery is at work here? You see, the secret to this feat lies in the principle of inertia. When the bag is whisked away at lightning speed, the objects on top of it stubbornly resist the change in motion, choosing instead to remain rooted in place. “Nope, not today, gravity. We’re staying put.” The smoother the surface of the bag, the less friction there is to mess with the objects’ inertia, allowing them to remain as still as statues.
Of course, the internet being the internet, users had plenty to say about this incredible display of skill. Some brave souls dared to dream of even greater challenges, like a full place setting complete with plates, forks, and a precariously balanced cup of coffee. Others pointed out that the first trick with the lip gloss, while seemingly the least impressive, is actually the most challenging due to its light weight and low friction. And then there were those who simply couldn’t contain their awe, proclaiming that this prodigious display of prowess was worthy of the golden buzzer on any talent show worth its salt.
Perhaps the most relatable comment came from the user who wondered how on earth this talent was discovered in the first place. Did she wake up one morning, possessed by the spirit of a mischievous poltergeist, and decide to test her powers on unsuspecting household objects? Did she have a vision in a dream, a prophecy of her destiny as the queen of the polypropylene bag? Or was it just a happy accident, a serendipitous moment when the stars aligned and the universe whispered, “You know what would be really cool? If you could do a tablecloth trick.” We may never know the answer to this question.