# Ice Cream Challenge > Ice Cream Challenge is a 2019 summer viral dare where people filmed themselves licking Blue Bell ice cream containers in stores and returning them, sparked by a Texas Walmart video that led to criminal charges. The Ice Cream Challenge was a viral internet dare from summer 2019 where people filmed themselves opening containers of ice cream in grocery stores, licking the top, and putting them back in the freezer. It started when a video of a woman licking a tub of Blue Bell Tin Roof ice cream at a Texas Walmart racked up over 12 million views on Twitter, sparking widespread outrage, copycat incidents, criminal charges, and a wave of parody videos mocking the whole thing. ## Origin On June 28, 2019, a video surfaced online showing a young woman opening a half-gallon container of Blue Bell's Tin Roof ice cream inside a Walmart in Lufkin, Texas, licking across the top, and placing it back in the store freezer[2]. The woman was later identified on social media as Instagram user @xx.asiaaaa.xx[4]. A male companion, believed to be her boyfriend, filmed the entire thing. The next day, June 29, Twitter user @BlindDensetsu reposted the footage with the caption "What kinda psychopathic behavior is this?"[4]. The tweet exploded. Within one week, it pulled in over 12.2 million views, 67,500 likes, and 28,400 retweets[4]. A screenshot from the original Instagram post revealed the caption read "You can call it Flu Bell ice cream now 'cause I was a lil sick last week," along with a hashtag encouraging others to join in with #tinroofchallenge[4]. - **Platform:** Instagram (original video), Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Instagram user @xx.asiaaaa.xx (original video), @BlindDensetsu (viral Twitter repost) - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview The Ice Cream Challenge involved a simple, gross premise: walk into a grocery store, open a container of ice cream, lick the top, seal it back up, and return it to the freezer for an unsuspecting shopper to buy. Participants filmed the act and posted it to social media, usually with a sense of brazen pride. The challenge targeted Blue Bell ice cream specifically because its containers lacked plastic safety seals at the time, making tampering easy and undetectable[3]. What set this apart from other viral stunts was the public health angle. Food tampering is a criminal offense, and authorities treated it as such. The challenge kicked off a national conversation about food safety, consumer product protections, and the lengths people will go for social media clout[6]. ## How It Spread Blue Bell Creameries moved fast once the video hit mainstream attention. The company contacted the Lufkin Police Department on July 3, and instructed division managers across the state to try matching the store in the footage[3]. A Lufkin-area manager recognized the Walmart's unique shelf layout and flagged it within an hour[3]. By that afternoon, Blue Bell had retrieved what they believed was the contaminated container and pulled all Tin Roof half-gallons from that location[2]. The Lufkin Police Department identified the suspect as a juvenile from San Antonio with ties to the Lufkin area through her boyfriend's family[7]. Because she was a minor, her name was not released, and the case was transferred to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department[2]. Police noted that tampering with a consumer product is a second-degree felony in Texas carrying 2 to 20 years in prison, and that they were consulting with the FDA about potential federal charges[7]. Copycat videos appeared almost immediately. On July 2, Twitter user @Gayshawnmendes uploaded footage of himself scooping ice cream out of a container with his hand and putting it back, racking up 12.2 million views in 72 hours[4]. That same day, a video by Instagram user @shelley_golden showing a similar ice cream lick collected over 10,200 likes on Twitter[4]. On July 3, @bameronkaii posted a video of someone gargling Listerine mouthwash and spitting it back into the bottle, pulling 14.2 million views[4]. The challenge had already jumped beyond ice cream. On July 6, 36-year-old Lenise Lloyd Martin III of Belle Rose, Louisiana, posted a Facebook video of himself licking a container of Blue Bell ice cream at a local supermarket called Big B's[5]. Deputies responded to complaints from witnesses who saw the tampering. Martin later returned to the store with a receipt, claiming he'd purchased the container after licking it[5]. He was arrested anyway and booked on charges of unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity, plus one count of criminal mischief for tampering with property[5]. The fallout extended beyond ice cream. A woman in Jacksonville, Florida, filmed her daughter grabbing a tongue depressor from a dentist's office, licking it, and putting it back in the jar. The mother, 30-year-old Cori Ward, was charged with a felony for tampering with a consumer product, facing up to 30 years in prison[6]. ## How to Use The Ice Cream Challenge isn't really a meme template with a reusable format. It was a behavioral challenge that people either participated in (by filming themselves licking ice cream in stores) or responded to (with parody videos or commentary). The typical structure was: 1. Enter a grocery store and go to the ice cream freezer section 2. Open a container, lick the top, and put it back 3. Film the whole thing and post it to social media ## Cultural Impact The Ice Cream Challenge triggered a genuine public safety response across the United States. Grocery chains added locks and security measures to their frozen food aisles, a change visible in photos that circulated widely online[4]. Blue Bell Creameries pulled product from shelves and issued public statements treating the incident as a crisis[3]. Law enforcement responses were unusually aggressive for a social media trend. Texas authorities consulted with the FDA about federal charges[2], and multiple states pursued felony prosecutions. The challenge became a case study in how viral internet dares can cross into criminal territory, with experts from multiple universities providing commentary to national outlets like CBS News[6]. The broader "licking challenge" wave that followed, including the Listerine and tongue depressor incidents, prompted discussions about consumer product safety standards and tamper-evident packaging across the food industry[6]. Parents were advised to have explicit conversations with their teens about the permanence of social media posts and their potential legal consequences[6]. ## Fun Facts - Blue Bell identified the Lufkin Walmart within one hour of sending out a corporate-wide request to division managers, thanks to the store's "unique merchandising" visible in the video[3]. - The original licker's Instagram caption bragged about being sick the previous week, adding a genuine health scare on top of the gross-out factor[4]. - Martin, the Louisiana man arrested for the challenge, actually went back to the store with his receipt to prove he'd bought the ice cream. He was arrested anyway[5]. - The Ariana Grande doughnut-licking incident from 2015 is considered a precursor to the Ice Cream Challenge's wave of food tampering content[6]. - Some Twitter users called the original act "bioterrorism," though that term was used loosely and not in any official legal capacity[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Ice Cream Challenge? The Ice Cream Challenge was a 2019 social media trend where people filmed themselves opening containers of ice cream in grocery stores, licking the top, and putting them back in the freezer[4]. ### Where did the Ice Cream Challenge come from? It originated when a video of a woman licking Blue Bell Tin Roof ice cream at a Walmart in Lufkin, Texas was posted to Instagram on June 28, 2019, then went viral after being reposted on Twitter the next day[4]. ### What does the Ice Cream Challenge mean? It refers specifically to the act of tampering with ice cream in a store for social media attention. The term also came to encompass the broader wave of food tampering videos and the parody responses that followed[1]. ### How do you use the Ice Cream Challenge? The challenge involved filming yourself licking store ice cream, though the more popular use of the hashtag became parody videos where people mocked the trend by buying ice cream normally[1]. ### Is the Ice Cream Challenge still popular? No. The challenge died out by late summer 2019 after multiple arrests and felony charges made participation extremely risky[6]. ### Who was the original Blue Bell licker? She was identified as a juvenile from San Antonio, Texas. Her name was not publicly released due to laws protecting juvenile offenders. Her case was transferred to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department[2]. ### What charges did the Ice Cream Challenge participants face? In Texas, tampering with a consumer product is a second-degree felony carrying 2 to 20 years in prison. The Florida tongue depressor case carried up to 30 years[7][6]. ### Did anyone actually go to jail for the Ice Cream Challenge? Lenise Lloyd Martin III was arrested in Louisiana on July 6, 2019, booked on charges of criminal mischief and unlawful posting of criminal activity, despite claiming he purchased the ice cream afterward[5]. ### Why did stores start locking their ice cream freezers? In direct response to the challenge, grocery stores across the country added locks and security measures to frozen food aisles to prevent tampering[4]. ### Did Blue Bell change its packaging after the challenge? Blue Bell faced significant public pressure to add tamper-evident seals to their containers after the challenge exposed how easy it was to open and reseal them undetected[3]. ## References 1. [People are mocking the #IceCreamChallenge with hilarious videos | Mashable]() 2. [Blue Bell ice-cream licking video: Suspect identified, police say]() 3. [Viral Video Of "Blue Bell Licker" May Lead To 20 Years Jail Time | eBaum's World]() 4. [Ice Cream Challenge - Know Your Meme]() 5. [List of Internet phenomena]() 6. [Ice Cream Challenge - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Another ice cream licker arrested; this one's in Louisiana]() 8. [Viral Ice Cream Challenge Incites Shock, Participants May Face Charges - CBS Detroit]() 9. [Blue Bell ice-cream licking video: Suspect identified, police say]() 10. [Sports]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/ice-cream-challenge Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library