Tampon Eating Hoax

2019Viral hoax / prank trenddead

Also known as: Eating Tampons TikTok · Tampon Reabsorption Hoax

Tampon Eating Hoax is a 2019 TikTok prank trend started by Canadian teenager Caroline Majcher where girls convinced boys that women eat used tampons to reabsorb lost blood, filming their confused reactions.

The Tampon Eating Hoax was a coordinated prank originating on TikTok in June 2019 where teenage girls convinced boys that women eat their used tampons to "reabsorb the blood they lost." Started by 18-year-old Canadian TikToker Caroline Majcher, the joke spread rapidly as other women joined in without any prior coordination, filming confused male reactions and inventing increasingly absurd "preparation methods." The hoax became a minor viral moment that demonstrated the collective comedic power of teen girls online.

hoax memesparticipatory video memesprank memestiktok sound trends

Overview

The Tampon Eating Hoax is a fake claim that women eat their used tampons after each use to reabsorb the menstrual blood they lost. The joke hinges on the idea that many men know so little about periods that they might actually believe something this outlandish. Women on TikTok posted deadpan videos expressing "shock" that guys didn't already know about this supposed practice, while others filmed their boyfriends' and male friends' bewildered reactions to the claim2. The humor escalated as participants invented fake preparation methods like tampon tea, DivaCup shots, and frozen tampon popsicles2.

On June 12, 2019, TikTok user @caro.trash (Caroline Majcher), an 18-year-old from Toronto, uploaded a video in which she expressed disbelief that her male friends "had no idea that girls eat their tampon after they're done with it to reabsorb all the blood that they just lost"3. Majcher told BuzzFeed News that she and her sister had been brainstorming video ideas when the concept came up. "I thought I could probably make up a lie about girls and any boy would believe it," she said2. The original video picked up over 854,000 likes and 36,100 shares within three months3.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok
Key People
Caroline Majcher
Date
2019

On June 12, 2019, TikTok user @caro.trash (Caroline Majcher), an 18-year-old from Toronto, uploaded a video in which she expressed disbelief that her male friends "had no idea that girls eat their tampon after they're done with it to reabsorb all the blood that they just lost". Majcher told BuzzFeed News that she and her sister had been brainstorming video ideas when the concept came up. "I thought I could probably make up a lie about girls and any boy would believe it," she said. The original video picked up over 854,000 likes and 36,100 shares within three months.

How It Spread

What made the Tampon Eating Hoax work was the unspoken, spontaneous cooperation of other women on TikTok. Without any coordination from Majcher, other users began posting their own versions of the same claim, backing it up in the comments and inventing creative ways to "consume" period products. As Vice noted, teens "saw an opportunity to mess around and convince guys that eating used tampons is not just normal, but healthy, even, and ran with it".

Girls started sharing the original audio with groups of boys and filming their reactions. On July 5, 2019, TikTok user @sophie.quinoa posted a video showing a group of boys' stunned faces as they heard the claim. That video earned over 404,300 likes and 19,400 shares in two months. On August 29, @zoelaverne posted a similar reaction video that hit 498,700 likes and 8,500 shares within a month.

The comedic suggestions for "tampon recipes" grew increasingly ridiculous. Users proposed DivaCup shots, tampon tea, wringing pads out into cups, freezing tampons as popsicles, and using them as "salsa dip". "I saw one girl say that she would use her tampon and freeze it as a popsicle," Majcher told BuzzFeed News. "One said she used it as a salsa dip".

By September 2019, the hoax had migrated to Twitter. On September 18, Twitter user @Fake_Aeon_Air tweeted, "The gag about girls eating their used tampons have been going on for so long that I'm starting to genuinely wonder if they do". Another user, @mangoesandbeans, tweeted the same day that the hoax was so persistent she was starting to doubt herself. The fact that even women were getting confused by the saturation of jokes showed just how thoroughly the bit had been committed to.

How to Use This Meme

The Tampon Eating Hoax followed a simple formula:

1

The deadpan claim: Record yourself speaking matter-of-factly about how girls eat their tampons to reabsorb blood, acting confused that men don't already know this.

2

The reaction film: Play the original audio (or a similar claim) for a group of guys and capture their confused, disgusted, or shocked faces on camera. Often the women in the group would nod along to sell the bit.

3

The escalation: In comments or follow-up videos, suggest increasingly absurd "preparation methods" (freezing, brewing as tea, blending into smoothies) to push the joke further.

Cultural Impact

Both BuzzFeed News and Vice covered the trend, with Vice's Becky Ferreira calling it "an absolutely pointless, viral-ish hoax" and "a stellar addition to the genre of teen girls seeing a prank all the way through". The article compared it to the 2017 balloon prank that had Pennsylvania police worried. BuzzFeed News framed it as proof that "girls like gross humor too".

The hoax tapped into a broader pattern of women using men's ignorance about menstruation as comedic material. The magic of the trend was that observers genuinely couldn't tell whether the boys in reaction videos believed it or not. Both outlets felt obligated to include disclaimers that eating used tampons is not actually healthy or advisable.

Fun Facts

Majcher came up with the idea while brainstorming TikTok video concepts with her sister, not as part of any organized prank campaign.

The hoax worked largely because women joined in spontaneously. As Vice put it, Majcher "doesn't appear to have conspired with others to perpetuate this batshit, pointless hoax".

The key reaction video by @sophie.quinoa featured a moment where all the boys simultaneously looked to the girl in their group for confirmation.

Some Twitter users who were in on the joke eventually started confusing themselves about whether it might actually be true.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tampon Eating Hoax

2019Viral hoax / prank trenddead

Also known as: Eating Tampons TikTok · Tampon Reabsorption Hoax

Tampon Eating Hoax is a 2019 TikTok prank trend started by Canadian teenager Caroline Majcher where girls convinced boys that women eat used tampons to reabsorb lost blood, filming their confused reactions.

The Tampon Eating Hoax was a coordinated prank originating on TikTok in June 2019 where teenage girls convinced boys that women eat their used tampons to "reabsorb the blood they lost." Started by 18-year-old Canadian TikToker Caroline Majcher, the joke spread rapidly as other women joined in without any prior coordination, filming confused male reactions and inventing increasingly absurd "preparation methods." The hoax became a minor viral moment that demonstrated the collective comedic power of teen girls online.

hoax memes participatory video memes prank memes tiktok sound trends

Overview

The Tampon Eating Hoax is a fake claim that women eat their used tampons after each use to reabsorb the menstrual blood they lost. The joke hinges on the idea that many men know so little about periods that they might actually believe something this outlandish. Women on TikTok posted deadpan videos expressing "shock" that guys didn't already know about this supposed practice, while others filmed their boyfriends' and male friends' bewildered reactions to the claim. The humor escalated as participants invented fake preparation methods like tampon tea, DivaCup shots, and frozen tampon popsicles.

On June 12, 2019, TikTok user @caro.trash (Caroline Majcher), an 18-year-old from Toronto, uploaded a video in which she expressed disbelief that her male friends "had no idea that girls eat their tampon after they're done with it to reabsorb all the blood that they just lost". Majcher told BuzzFeed News that she and her sister had been brainstorming video ideas when the concept came up. "I thought I could probably make up a lie about girls and any boy would believe it," she said. The original video picked up over 854,000 likes and 36,100 shares within three months.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok
Key People
Caroline Majcher
Date
2019

On June 12, 2019, TikTok user @caro.trash (Caroline Majcher), an 18-year-old from Toronto, uploaded a video in which she expressed disbelief that her male friends "had no idea that girls eat their tampon after they're done with it to reabsorb all the blood that they just lost". Majcher told BuzzFeed News that she and her sister had been brainstorming video ideas when the concept came up. "I thought I could probably make up a lie about girls and any boy would believe it," she said. The original video picked up over 854,000 likes and 36,100 shares within three months.

How It Spread

What made the Tampon Eating Hoax work was the unspoken, spontaneous cooperation of other women on TikTok. Without any coordination from Majcher, other users began posting their own versions of the same claim, backing it up in the comments and inventing creative ways to "consume" period products. As Vice noted, teens "saw an opportunity to mess around and convince guys that eating used tampons is not just normal, but healthy, even, and ran with it".

Girls started sharing the original audio with groups of boys and filming their reactions. On July 5, 2019, TikTok user @sophie.quinoa posted a video showing a group of boys' stunned faces as they heard the claim. That video earned over 404,300 likes and 19,400 shares in two months. On August 29, @zoelaverne posted a similar reaction video that hit 498,700 likes and 8,500 shares within a month.

The comedic suggestions for "tampon recipes" grew increasingly ridiculous. Users proposed DivaCup shots, tampon tea, wringing pads out into cups, freezing tampons as popsicles, and using them as "salsa dip". "I saw one girl say that she would use her tampon and freeze it as a popsicle," Majcher told BuzzFeed News. "One said she used it as a salsa dip".

By September 2019, the hoax had migrated to Twitter. On September 18, Twitter user @Fake_Aeon_Air tweeted, "The gag about girls eating their used tampons have been going on for so long that I'm starting to genuinely wonder if they do". Another user, @mangoesandbeans, tweeted the same day that the hoax was so persistent she was starting to doubt herself. The fact that even women were getting confused by the saturation of jokes showed just how thoroughly the bit had been committed to.

How to Use This Meme

The Tampon Eating Hoax followed a simple formula:

1

The deadpan claim: Record yourself speaking matter-of-factly about how girls eat their tampons to reabsorb blood, acting confused that men don't already know this.

2

The reaction film: Play the original audio (or a similar claim) for a group of guys and capture their confused, disgusted, or shocked faces on camera. Often the women in the group would nod along to sell the bit.

3

The escalation: In comments or follow-up videos, suggest increasingly absurd "preparation methods" (freezing, brewing as tea, blending into smoothies) to push the joke further.

Cultural Impact

Both BuzzFeed News and Vice covered the trend, with Vice's Becky Ferreira calling it "an absolutely pointless, viral-ish hoax" and "a stellar addition to the genre of teen girls seeing a prank all the way through". The article compared it to the 2017 balloon prank that had Pennsylvania police worried. BuzzFeed News framed it as proof that "girls like gross humor too".

The hoax tapped into a broader pattern of women using men's ignorance about menstruation as comedic material. The magic of the trend was that observers genuinely couldn't tell whether the boys in reaction videos believed it or not. Both outlets felt obligated to include disclaimers that eating used tampons is not actually healthy or advisable.

Fun Facts

Majcher came up with the idea while brainstorming TikTok video concepts with her sister, not as part of any organized prank campaign.

The hoax worked largely because women joined in spontaneously. As Vice put it, Majcher "doesn't appear to have conspired with others to perpetuate this batshit, pointless hoax".

The key reaction video by @sophie.quinoa featured a moment where all the boys simultaneously looked to the girl in their group for confirmation.

Some Twitter users who were in on the joke eventually started confusing themselves about whether it might actually be true.

Frequently Asked Questions