The cinnamon challenge became a very popular challenge that escalated
into an internet sensation beginning in the early 2000s. With thousands of
videos uploaded to Youtube and other video blogs, the cinnamon challenge
reached a widespread audience. The challenge involves the victim attempting to
swallow a spoon full of cinnamon, within a minute, without inhaling it or consuming
it with liquids. Although this task seems fairly simple, it is physically
impossible. The earliest attempt was recorded in 2001by Michael Buffington and
Erik Goodlad. The video was uploaded onto a blog which was later discovered by
Jason Kotke and made viral. The first YouTube video to feature the challenge was
created in 2006, followed by several others. The challenge became increasingly
popular due to the entertainment value when watching how different people react
after eating a spoon full of cinnamon; coughing a cloud of red powder, throwing
it up, screaming, or drenching one’s mouth with a big glass of water. The fact
that it seems like a fairly simple and easy challenge in itself is also an
appealing factor as people are determined to complete it. Search entries gained its highest activity in
October 2007. One of the biggest video hits was uploaded in 2011 by Anna Diaz,
racking up over 3.9 million views in the first two months. The challenge hit
its peak interest, however in February of 2012 according to Google Trends. The
challenge has several Q&A threads, a Wikipedia article, Facebook fan pages,
an entry in the Urban Dictionary, featured on myth busters and on an episode of
Jimmy Kimmel. It also gained widespread notoriety with multiple studies being
done linking the challenge to medical complications including throat
irritation, lung scarring, and emphysema. In one year alone, hundreds of kids
required hospitalization after doing the cinnamon challenge. There have not
been any other known memes to have originated from the challenge, but it still
continues to be a popular activity on social media.
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