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The Milk Crate Challengehas been banned from TikTok.
Zoomers across the nation are apoplectic.
Cancel culture wins again.
But also right in line with the lifespan of the average viral stunt.
Blink and you miss it.
I was curious to learn more about the short, brutal existences of this particular genus of meme challenge.
When do these stunts peak in the public arena?
How are they rendered officially, canonically cringe?
After the first copycat is minted, nobody can put the toothpaste back into the tube.
Thats when my ears prick up.
Rosenblatt has some theories as to what challenges best attract the copycats.
Accessibility is super-important, she argues.
Virality requires a very specific dosage of enticing, approachable stupidity.
You know it when you see it.
It has to be something imitable.
Thats when youre on the path to something taking off.
The Milk Crate Challenge is officially a trend, laying siege to For You Pages across the globe.
Its fresh, she says.
People cant get enough of it.
Its an ephemeral, intangible magic.
Like, Oh, I wanna see more of that.
Its a singular feeling, youre enjoying it, and you could tell everyone else is enjoying it.
Civility is alive and well when everyone is watching people fall off of milk crates.
Why cant it always be this way?
Stage Three: The Good Celebrities
Its been about two weeks.
(Here, for instance, isa Milk Crate Challengethemed music video.)
Charli runs a TikTok that possesses a zoomer fluency to rival Addison Rae.
If she jumps on a trend, we at least know her heart is in the right place.
Theyve seen the genesis of a from the original incarnation to now.
Call it a draw.
Stage Four: The Bad Celebrities (Or, More Specifically, Jimmy Fallon)
Oh no!
Your challenge has officially entered the tomb of late-night television!
Its never going to escape.
Yes, talk-show hosts are the harbinger of doom for anything cool or funny happening online.
Its like regurgitating the motions of a trend to gain bona fides with Gen-Z, she continues.
These talk show hosts arent even enjoying it.
It feels completely inauthentic, and inauthenticity is the antithesis of being extremely online.
Its a huge red flag.
Rosenblatt is 100 percent right.
I suppose that makes it a helpful barometer for our purposes.
Do you want to verify if a meme is over?
Tune into CBS at 11:35 p.m. and find out!
They will be absolutely correct.
