TikTok’s One Chip Challenge, explained

There are plenty of elaborate and dangerous challenges out there on TikTok, and with so many different ones coming and going over the years, it’s nice to see a return to basics with the one chip challenge. If you don’t know about this challenge, it involves an individual or individuals eating an incredibly spicy hot chip and subsequently crying in pain for the rest of the video as the hot chip burns them from the inside out. Many have taken part in the challenge, including the likes of IShowSpeed.

It’s a nice and simple challenge and it brings me back to the good old days of the cinnamon challenge and the ghost pepper challenges. There are plenty of hilarious videos out there on TikTok of people eating the chip and their reactions to the spicy little triangle of death are sure to bring some good laughs to the viewer.

Of course, you can’t just eat any chip for the one chip challenge, the chip in question is a specific brand of hot chip known as the Paqui one chip. It comes in an ominous box containing a picture of a melting skull and snake. The same challenge popped up online last year too, although the chip was blue last time. According to the Paqui website, this year’s chip contains Carolina Reaper peppers and Naga Viper peppers, two extremely hot peppers.

The box can be ordered online and it comes with a set of strong warnings for the consumer showing just how dangerous the challenge can actually be. There is also a scale to determine how strong the individual is based on the length of time they are capable of not seeking relief from the flaming snack. The list starts with “Harmless” at one minute and goes up to “Apex Predator” if the individual can last an hour with no drink, ice cream or whatever they have on hand to ease the pain.

So naturally, when the word challenge is involved, the TikTok crowd are not far off, with their phones at the ready, prepared to record themselves taking part in the challenge. It’s a pretty smart marketing tactic on Paqui’s behalf as they don’t need to do much in the way of advertising, simply present the challenge and let TikTok do the rest.

And the app has not let us down this year with plenty of laugh out loud videos showing people crying, vomiting, fighting, dancing and doing just about anything to make the heat more bearable. As for others, the chip went straight through them.

Of course, as with all challenges, there are risks. Last year, people were sent to the hospital because of the one chip and this year hasn’t been much different. According to NBC Boston, a 14-year-old boy tragically lost his life due to complications from eating the spicy chip, although the exact cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

Although the challenge is mostly risk free for the most part, there are certainly risks involved, and the packaging advises consumers to seek medical attention if they experience difficulty breathing, nausea, or fainting.