The Viral #MilkCrateChallenge Is Exactly the Kind of Good, Harmful Fun We Need Right Now

Try to walk across this towering milk crate without seriously injuring yourself

Containers of milk are seen in the cooler of a convenience store April 12, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois.
Containers of milk are seen in the cooler of a convenience store April 12, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

While the Olympics may be over, a new test of agility, balance and composure is sweeping the internet. It’s called How Many Milk Crates Can You Stack Up and Then Walk Across Before You Fall and Severely Injure Yourself, or as it’s more commonly known, the #MilkCrateChallenge.

While the trend looks incredibly dangerous, I’m also not going to pretend like watching people attempt — and more often than not, fail — this challenge isn’t totally entertaining. Let’s roll the tape:

As you can gather from various videos, the #MilkCrateChallenge is pretty straightforward. Empty milk crates are stacked on top of each other in a staircase-like formation. Those brave enough then try their best to climb up and down the rickety milk crate tower without plummeting into a nice concussion. Some have even heightened the stakes, like fitness influencer Bradley Martyn, who completed the challenge while eating a bowl of cereal and lifting weights. Others have triumphed over the milk crates while simultaneously rolling a blunt.

The trend has grown tremendously over the past few days, mainly on Twitter, where users are either posting videos of themselves or others attempting the challenge or creating memes that make fun of the trend itself.

Now you might have some questions, like where are all these milk crates coming from?? And is the challenge really so difficult? (As former NFL defensive end Cris Long speculated, “Is the milk crate challenge that hard? Those things hold lots of milk. With ease. Not impressed.”)

Well I have no explanation for the sudden influx of crates, Complex provided some insight on the latter:

“Individually, the standard industrial milk crate can withstand thousands of pounds of pressure; However, when stacked on top of one another, they provide very little stabilization. This means that the higher an individual climbs up the staircase, the harder it becomes to stay balanced, especially on uneven surfaces like lawns.”

Hopefully, this little tidbit and the myriad fail videos making my head throb will deter any impulse you have to try the #MilkCrateChallenge for yourself. But if not, godspeed, and please remember that ICU beds are extremely limited at present.

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