What are you doing this weekend? Out with friends, having a quiet one, maybe seeing family? Oh, me? I’ll likely be watching videos of bottles rolling down various types of stairs and making guesses on how quickly they’ll break or if they’ll make it to the bottom of the steps. It’s fun, I promise.
It’s a weird obsession but I’m not alone.
In fact, millions of people have been enjoying watching these bottles roll down steps over the past month or so on TikTok. It’s really simple. The bottles can be filled with anything. Wine, beer, chickpeas, you name it, it’s in these bottles and for so many of us, it’s the kind of ASMR that we’ve been looking for. Keep your clicking keyboards and long fingernails away from me, I just want to watch some bottles rolling down steps.
So many of us just can’t look away from these videos, especially as the bottles and jars get closer and closer to the bottom, the excitement is far too much.
But, why are we so obsessed?!
Well, I needed to get to the bottom of this as much as those bottles need to get to the bottom of the stairs so I reached out to some experts to find out if there’s a psychological reason behind this or if it’s just another joyful part of going goblin mode.
I spoke to Eloise Skinner, an existential therapist and author about this new trend and what it might say about those of us that can’t get enough of it.
Skinner said, “I think mostly this trend hits the “satisfying” category. similar to my favourite, @sandwoah - or other ASMR content. The sound of glass on stairs. especially on hard floors can have a relaxing, predictable quality - some people might feel satisfaction hearing the smashing sounds, too!”
This makes a lot of sense for me at least, I love hearing the sounds of different types of glass on different types of flooring. Concrete, marble, indoors, outdoors, can’t get enough! Skinner also agrees with my theory that the guessing game part of it is part of what keeps us hooked. She said, “This is one of the things that gets people commenting, holds interest and gives the trend a gamified element.”
I have to admit that enjoying this so much has made me think that I might be a bit of a weirdo but Skinner assures all of us that enjoy this content, “One of the biggest things with viral trends in general is the communal / shared experience element - we love to feel like we’re part of something bigger, and that we understand what’s going on, or that we have insider knowledge and experience of a trend.”
Which is actually really quite sweet when you think about it!