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Tag: TikTok

  • Bartender gives regulars their Miller Lite in a martini glass. Their reactions are very telling: ‘She was more offended than he was’

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    It’s always nice when service or hospitality workers get to let loose a little. They really are the backbone of our culture, so they deserve to have some fun.

    It’s especially nice when these workers get to develop good relationships with regulars, considering they so often have to deal with customers from hell. And with good relationships come jokes, pranks, and funny videos for the rest of us civilians to enjoy.

    One neighborhood bar in Pennsylvania, the Braveheart Highland Pub, is currently going viral for good-naturedly pranking its regulars. Let’s get into these shenanigans.

    ‘We love our regulars’

    In a video first posted on Feb. 1 that has since accumulated over 2.9 million views, the Scottish pub (@braveheart.pub on TikTok) filmed one of its bartenders “giving regulars their Miller Lite in a martini glass.”

    The first regular in the video was immediately flabbergasted by his bartender’s antics. His eyes widened when the beer was placed in front of him, martini glass and all. He immediately became playfully suspicious.

    “I swear, if you make a TikTok of that,” he says in the video, rubbing his face in exasperation. One commenter noted, laughing, that he clearly “has definitely been a victim of these pranks before.”

    The second regular, however, won the game. When the bartender gave his “beertini,” this macho-looking regular stared him down… before daintily picking up the glass with his pinky out and eyebrows raised knowingly.

    Viewers absolutely adored this second regular

    Many screenshot his iconic “immediate pinky” reaction as a meme and applaud him as “a regular who understood the assignment.”

    “Second dude knows he’s a man and doesn’t get threatened by a drink,” one said.

    “Love the pinky out!!” one viewer commented with a laughing emoji. “He gets it.” Another echoed the love for the “pinky up,” calling him “fancy.”

    “The second guy passes the vibe check,” another agreed. “Yaaas what a distinguished gentleman,” commented another.

    Other viewers were such big fans of his reaction that they cheered his “class” and called for him to get free drinks.

    “Pinky out makes that Miller Lite look classy,” one viewer commented. Another went as far as to put their own hypothetical wallet on the line.

    “I would’ve paid for the second guy’s beer,” they wrote. “Just bc the reaction was immaculate.”

    And that’s the beauty of having goodhearted regulars. As one commenter put it, regulars “never complain, they are just happy to be there.”

    @braveheart.pub Pinky’s out! @Miller Lite #regularprank #beernmartiniglass #mustbe21 #scottishpub #weloveourregulars ♬ Swear By It – Chris Alan Lee

    Why are there different kinds of alcohol glasses, anyway?

    Glasses for champagne, glasses for wine. Glasses for whiskey, martini, and cocktails; glasses for beer, shots, and tequila. If you find yourself wondering, “What even is the point of having different types of glasses for different types of alcohol, anyway?”—don’t worry. You’re not alone.

    The various types of glassware for different alcoholic drinks are not just a matter of aesthetics, although it might certainly look good when you’re seated at a bar. The answer to the glassware mystery is twofold: History and functionality.

    For many iconic glassware silhouettes, it all comes down to history. For example, According to wine retailer Vinum Design, the martini glass—originally called just a “cocktail glass”—was first created in the 1800s. However, it gained traction during the American Prohibition era “because of its style, but above all because it could be quickly and discreetly discarded during surprise searches in clandestine bars.” Meanwhile, the cognac glass dates all the way “back to Ancient Rome!”

    On the other hand, glasswares serve different functions for its corresponding drinks. According to Bartenders Business, there’s literally a science behind different types of glassware, playing “a significant role in how each drink looks, smells, and tastes.” Glass shape and thickness not only impact aroma and temperature, but also the actual taste, characteristics, and ease of consumption for various drinks.

    This is why Braveheart Highland Pub’s regulars were so surprised to see their beer served in an unorthodox glass. Thankfully, all’s well that ends well, and everyone had a good time in the ways that matter.

    The Mary Sue has reached out to Braveheart Highland Pub via email.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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  • Southwest customer flies from Chicago to L.A. without problem. Then her carry-on is barred on the return flight: ‘I guess I’m getting a new suitcase’

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    A woman read the online measurements for Southwest carry-on bags. Then, she brought a suitcase that was well within the company’s parameters, only to be told that she could not take it onboard as a carry on. 

    “I’m just confused why they have measurements on the website when their plane can’t even accommodate those,” said lifeoflyssb (@lifeoflyssb), in a video that has over 142,000 views. The TikTok content creator flew from Chicago to Los Angeles without any issues. But on the way back home from Los Angeles, she was stopped because her  24 x 14 x 9 bag was “too large” for the plane. 

    She provided screenshots that proved that at the time she was flying, her bag met the size requirements to be a carry-on. So, why was she stopped for something that should theoretically fit?

    Why did the bag not fit?

    When the creator and her husband arrived at the airport, she seemed to have some mild nervousness regarding her bag fitting onboard. But she had checked beforehand and ensured that it met Southwest’s self-described carry-on luggage policies. 

    She checked with the gate agent, who confirmed that the bag “should” fit on the plane. They even measured the bag beforehand and confirmed that it was the correct size. But the gate agent let her know that they may need to check the bag on the flight. 

    When the couple got on the plane, they tried to put the bag in an overhead compartment. The only problem? It wouldn’t fit. Despite emphasizing to the Southwest crew that she had measured the bag beforehand,  lifeoflyssb had to check it.  It wouldn’t fit in the “ the biggest compartments” they had, regardless of Southwest’s own specifications or policies. 

    “ Now these new planes, all of a sudden the bags don’t fit,” lifeoflyssb said. “So if you don’t want my 24 inch bag up there, then don’t say that the specifications are 24 inches. Like this bag is 24 inches. I measured it. The gate agent measured it.”

    Lifeoflyssb expressed even more frustration, because she doesn’t want to switch her bag every “six months” to account for new overhead bin sizes. “ It fit exactly the way it wanted it to [on an older plane], and then I get it on this brand new plane and all of a sudden it’s this huge issue,” she added.

    Is Southwest changing its carry-on sizing?

    According to many commenters, the issue wasn’t that lifeoflyssb misread the policy. It was that Southwest had not updated its policies to reflect its new aircrafts. 

    Southwest recently introduced a new line of MAX 8 aircrafts. In previous press releases, Southwest stated that new aircrafts would have larger bin space, not smaller. But customers have noticed that these overhead bins may have different sizing measurements that are not reflected on Southwest’s website. As of Feb. 5, their policy has not changed. Yet, many planes seemingly do have smaller overhead space. 

    “Yeah southwest shouldn’t be saying 24 inches, [as] the new planes only fit 22,” one commenter said. “United and American have updated this. I had a flight attendant tell me I shouldn’t be carrying on my 24 anymore and so I bit the bullet and bought a new one, but it does suck!”

    “They are changing to 22x14x9,” another viewer added. 

    But Southwest has not stated that overhead bins are smaller. The company also has not made any announcements regarding overhead bag policy changes. 

    Is Southwest ‘making’ the overheads smaller?

    One commenter said, “Funny how they get rid of the free bags then make the overheads smaller on the new planes….”

    Which leads to the question: Is Southwest deliberately making its overhead sizes smaller to gain money from checked bag fees?

    It is unlikely that Southwest is purchasing brand-new airplanes to deliberately make overhead space smaller. But, commenters have reason to fear the company’s recent changes. 

    Southwest introduced a few new policies that have proven controversial. The company no longer allows for free checked bags for all passengers, nor does it have open seating. 

    “So wait. They want us to pay for bags now and they made the overhead smaller? That’s a bunch of ridiculousness,” one viewer added. 

    Another said, “Southwest is having a rough go of it lately,” a comment that seems to be more and more true each day. 

    @lifeoflyssb I’m just confused why they have measurements on the website when their plane can’t even accommodate those measurements. Sooo anyway, does anyone have any luggage recommendations? ? ##southwestairlines##carryonbag##luggage##suitcase##travel@@Southwest Airlines ♬ original sound – lifeoflyssb

    The Mary Sue reached out to Southwest Airlines via press email and lifeoflyssb via TikTok direct message for comment.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Rachel Thomas

    Rachel Joy Thomas is a music journalist, freelance writer, and hopeful author who resides in Los Angeles, CA. You can email her at [email protected].

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  • ‘This happens often in Florida, one of the biggest… trafficking places in the world’: Florida Woman stays at hotel. Then others recount their stories.

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    Recently, The Mary Sue shared a story about a woman who was disturbed during a stay at a DoubleTree near Boca Raton, Florida. The post garnered significant attention, which led some viewers to supply tips about their experiences with hotels across.

    One viewer, Jordan Abner, shared that she and her husband Brian were disturbed in their hotel room while staying at two separate hotels in Tampa, Florida. While staying at a Baymont by Wyndham, an individual tried to enter their hotel room without a hotel key. She recounted that the man tried to “drill” inside the room after jiggling the lock. 

    Then, Jordan had a frighteningly similar encounter at a Hampton Inn—someone tried to enter the couple’s room and even opened the door while she was showering. Luckily, her husband was able to stop the man from entering the room. 

    After further recollection years down the line, Jordan believes these may have been deliberate, or in the very least, a reckless safety issue she encountered with both locations. She mentioned that “this happens often in Florida,” which is “one of the biggest… trafficking places in the world.” 

    What happened at the Baymont by Wyndham?

    When Jordan and her husband Brian checked into a reportedly closed Baymont by Wyndham, located at 3001 University Center Dr, in Tampa, they noticed some red flags. The hotel advertised that they had a pool and bar, but had neither. Instead, employees told the couple that they could “ bring [their] own alcohol and drink at the bar,” which immediately felt sketchy. Despite this, they checked in and went upstairs to sleep for the evening. 

    That evening, Jordan and her husband heard a strange sound coming from their doorway. Jordan woke up first, nudging her husband awake because she heard the door rattling due to a disturbance. They listened closely to see if someone would attempt to enter their room. After waiting for just a few seconds, they heard a buzzing sound that sounded like a drill.  

    “He goes and listens and then we hear a drill sound and my husband is like, ‘somebody’s trying to drill in this door… Something might happen,’” Jordan described. 

    Confused, Brian got up and approached the door. That’s when he saw two men trying to drill into their room. “ We didn’t have anything on us, like we didn’t even have a pocket knife at the time. And the two, there were two men there and they looked really, really surprised to see a guy there,” Jordan said. She mentioned that she was the one who made the booking—not Brian. That made her realize they may have thought she was alone.

    How did hotel staff address the issue?

    Later, when they went to speak to a front desk attendant, they were met with a complete lack of urgency. Similar to Breanna Holmes’ story, the hotel recounted that they didn’t check Jordan into the room.

    “ We immediately like went downstairs and told the girl at the front desk what was going on,” Jordan said. “And she really acted like she didn’t care. She couldn’t be bothered and they weren’t even gonna offer us a refund. [So], I made them refund us and we left.”

    After that point, Brian, Jordan’s husband, legally purchased a gun so that the family could defend themselves. 

    What happened at the Hampton Inn?

    While staying at a Hampton Inn located at 3333 Busch Blvd, Tampa, Florida, Jordan and Brian once again heard a strange noise at their door. This time, it was a man trying to open the door with a key. 

    Brian told his wife to get out of the shower while he addressed the disturbance. There, he came across a maintenance man who was actively letting himself into the room. 

    “ The door jiggles again, my husband whips the door open… By this time he has a gun, but not, you know, in his hand,” Jordan said. “So he whips the door open and the guy just looks at him and same scenario, ‘oh, I didn’t know anybody was in here.’”

    Brian left a review for the hotel after their stay, which read, “[The] hotel room was clean, front desk staff was friendly. Unfortunately while my wife and I were here we had a do not disturb on our door and a maintenance guy unlocked and attempted to enter the room. My wife was in the shower at this time and fortunately I was in the room and ran to the door and confronted him.” 

    Jordan recounted that the man looked “surprised” that a male came to the door. The couple then brought up the issue to the front desk, and were surprised to learn that “no maintenance”  was scheduled on the second floor where they were staying. 

    Notably, the hotel they stayed at was a Hilton property. DoubleTree, the hotel where Holmes experienced her frightening encounter, was also owned by Hilton.

    What happened afterward?

    The hotel stated that they would look into the matter, but the Abner family did not hear back regarding the situation. “This is extremely upsetting when you stay at a hotel you were under the impression that you are safe in your room and that no one can enter it unless you open the door. I would never stay at this hotel or any others like it ever again,” Brian stated in his review. 

    Even though hotels can technically enter rooms for maintenance issues or emergencies, Jordan and Brian found it strange that they experienced a similar incident two different times. Jordan cited the fact that she booked the hotels under her name as a possible reason why. In her comments to The Mary Sue, she warned other women that, “ You have to mind your surroundings and really pay attention to things for your own safety and for everybody else’s too… You should always let someone know where you are. Keep in touch with them, especially if you’re staying in a strange place or a new place on your own.”

    Since their experiences occurred, the Abner family has opted to avoid hotels entirely. Instead, they stay at Airbnbs when necessary. But both experiences have made Brian and Jordan avoid traveling for fun. At this point, they only leave their home for career-related events. 

    We’ve reached out to Hilton Inc via its press portal and Wyndham via email for comment.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Rachel Thomas

    Rachel Joy Thomas is a music journalist, freelance writer, and hopeful author who resides in Los Angeles, CA. You can email her at [email protected].

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  • Bitcoin falls to lowest level since Trump took office, Apple scales back AI health coach – Tech Digest

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    The price of Bitcoin fell to its lowest level     in 16 months despite US president Donald Trump’s personal and public support for cryptocurrency. A single Bitcoin went as low as $60,000 (£44,000), its lowest level since September 2024, before rallying slightly. The drop followed months of surging Bitcoin prices, which saw the cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $122,200 in October 2025. “Those who bet too big, borrowed too much or assumed prices only go up are now finding out the hard way what real market volatility and risk management look like,” Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association told Reuters. BBC 

    TikTok could be forced into changes to make the app less addictive to users after the EU indicated the platform had breached the bloc’s digital safety rules. The EU’s executive arm said in a preliminary ruling that the popular app had infringed the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to its “addictive design”. The European Commission said TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide, had not adequately assessed how its design could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of users. The Guardian 


    Markets took a tumble this week as AI-company Anthropic released new add-ons to Claude that can perform a range of functions typically filled by software providers. Shares of software-as-a-service companies like Adobe, Intuit, and Salesforce declined sharply on fears that AI tools might chip away at their business. Legacy tech giants with large AI businesses like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google were also hit hard. Yahoo!

    Anthropic, one of the biggest and most influential tech companies in the world, is launching a new model: Claude Opus 4.6. Until now, this would mostly be big news for techies, where Anthropic is admired as the maker of Claude Code, the code-writing AI tool which many engineers say is taking over their work entirely. All of a sudden, however, the impact of these tools is being felt more widely, after a seemingly small release from Anthropic shook some sections of the stock market. Sky News 

    Apple is no longer launching an AI service that can “replicate” a doctor and act as a personal health coach, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The company has reportedly scaled back the unannounced initiative in recent weeks, following a recent organization reshuffling wherein services chief Eddy Cue took over the health division. While Apple has never officially announced the AI health coach, it was reported last year that the company was working on developing the service that has been unofficially dubbed Health+. Engadget


    The second set-top-box with Freely on board    , the Aero 4K TV Streamer comes from Manhattan, which has been making satellite and Freeview boxes and recorders for decades. And it’s instantly a serious contender – not just for Pleio, but Sky Stream and Virgin Media Stream, too. So what’s the catch – if there is one – and what do you get for a surprisingly low entrance fee? Well, a lot, it turns out. The Manhattan Aero is remarkably priced. Available from several UK retailers, including Currys (click here for the direct link), Amazon, and John Lewis, it will set you back a mere £69.99. T3.com

     


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  • Woman goes to designer stores in SoHo for work bag. She gets laughed out of every single one except Balenciaga

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    If you’re out on a shopping spree, the last thing you want is to be belittled by workers who don’t think you’re fancy enough to shop in their stores. Unfortunately, it can be tough to find a high-fashion space that’s also a judgment-free zone.

    Considering fashion is an industry rife with elitism and classism, is it any surprise that some non-wealthy shoppers have bad experiences in the higher-end fashion retailers? This phenomenon is so well-known that it was immortalized in the iconic ’90s romcom Pretty Woman, in which Julia Roberts’ character gets snubbed at an expensive boutique for not looking like their customary, rich clientele. This “Pretty Woman effect” sometimes even boosts sales in real life.

    But while being classist might be a custom for some, it sure doesn’t win the hearts of customers long-term. One woman has even gone viral for sharing her experience of the Pretty Woman effect during a shopping trip.

    ‘Every designer store in Soho laughed at me’

    In a video first posted in Dec. 2025, which has since gotten well over 500,000 views, Maya Johnston (@missingpinkytoenail on TikTok) takes us through her not-so-fun journey of searching for a designer backpack.

    “Every designer store in Soho laughed at me before I bought this,” Johnston begins in the video, holding an unopened Balenciaga bag. “So let me tell you a little bit about it while we unbox it.”

    Johnston then says she’s been walking to work daily—”about a 30 minute walk each way”—and has started experiencing back pain from the tote bag she wears on one shoulder.

    “So I was like, OK, new fancy job, let’s treat myself to a new fancy bag,” Johnston continues. “But I have to get a backpack, and I’ve been so anti-backpack for the longest time.”

    Johnston decided that if she was “gonna wear something every day,” that something needed to be good quality. So, it seemed worth splurging on a pricier product from a nice, high-quality brand—especially now that she had a “big girl job.”

    “So I was going to all the designer stores asking if they had backpacks, and I got like, laughed out of most stores,” Johnston says. “They’d be like, ‘Do you want a tote? We do totes or mini backpacks.’ I guess like, backpacks are gauche.”

    Johnston says designer employees continued to pressure her to get a tote even though she clearly didn’t want one. Finally, after much frustration, she finally got what she was looking for at Balenciaga.

    “Eric at Balenciaga, Soho was amazing,” Johnston says, shouting out the employee who helped her. “I found the perfect backpack.”

    Johnston then pulls out her hard-earned backpack at last, revealing a good-sized black leather backpack to the camera.

    “It’s obviously a men’s backpack, somehow less expensive than the pure nylon Prada backpacks,
    but this is leather,” she details. “Balenciaga City backpack. It’s huge, it’ll fit my laptop, but it still has personality. And I’ll probably put Some charms on it. So, yeah, I’m super excited.”

    Whatever Johnston’s experience may have been, backpacks are hardly “gauche” these days—there’s a way to wear them so that they’re cooler than ever. And her comment section reinforced how necessary backpacks can be.

    “I have a backpack from @Loewe and I’m obsessed and love not having a hurt back/ shoulders,” one viewer commented. “Yours is so cute, good choice.”

    “My back hurts too!” affirmed another viewer. “This is so great!! Elegant and edgy AND functional! Ok queen.”

    “I’m so pro backpack and I feel like I got shamed out of it,” confessed another. “I gotta bring it back.”

    Other viewers were confused by the condescension Johnston allegedly experienced, considering virtually all designer houses sell backpacks—and have for a while.

    “I can’t think of one design brand that dosent have or had one backpack in their inventory,” wrote one commenter.

    “Coach has back packs , Prada has back packs,Marc Jacobs had back packs…” commented another with a “confused” emoji.

    “Which is funny because all those brands made backpacks in the 2010’s,” a third pointed out.

    Make it make sense.

    @missingpinkytoenail Luxury shopping SoHo except it’s for a backpack and Balenciaga city bag it is as my new chic work bag #balenciaga #workbag #luxuryworkbag ♬ original sound – MJ

    Which designer brands sell backpacks?

    Obviously, Balenciaga has backpacks for all the more practical-minded fashionistas out there—and they’re not prohibitive re. who buys them! But plenty of other fashion houses sell backpacks, even if Johnston didn’t have any luck getting her hands on them.

    Since Johnston found herself a nice black leather backpack, let’s take a look at similar ones across fashion brands. Dior, Gucci, Fendi, Burberry, and Dolce&Gabbana all have options similar to the Balenciaga one Johnston snagged.

    On the more affordable end of the spectrum, Michael Kors, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, and Valentino all have similar backpack selections as well.

    While these backpacks can range from hundreds of dollars to thousands, there are definitely options for people who are looking for a backpack made with the premium quality of a luxury brand.

    The Mary Sue has reached out to Johnston and Balenciaga via email.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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  • Woman can’t wait to build new Lego set—until she opens the box and realizes she’s been bamboozled: ‘At least you know what you’re having for dinner’

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    Lego collectors have a problem—specifically, a pasta problem.

    Across the internet, Lego fans are documenting a strange phenomenon. A customer will order a box of Lego, open it up, and then discover that their plastic bricks have been replaced with noodles.

    For example, in December 2025, one internet user said they purchased a box of Lego from Target. When they brought it home, they opened the box. They then discovered that, instead of their beloved toy, the cardboard was filled with conchiglie noodles.

    She’s not the only one. Across Reddit and other social media, users have documented Lego boxes that are instead filled with dry pasta.

    Now, it’s happened again. What’s going on?

    What Happened To This Woman’s Lego?

    In a slideshow with over 640,000 views, TikTok user Elise (@elise00250) shows the box for a Lego Tiny Plants set.

    “Tell me why I just bought a £35 Lego set all sealed up literally not been touched, all the bags completely sealed and l go to open one of the bags and it’s full of pasta,” Elise writes in the text overlaying the video. This equates to around $48 USD.

    “Lego has some explaining to do,” she adds.

    The images in the slideshow show paper bags that appear to be sealed. The bags clearly contain conchiglie pasta.

    In the comments section, Elise insists the bags have not been resealed. She adds that the Lego was purchased from British retailer B&M. Additionally, being gluten-free, she couldn’t even use the pasta.

    Why Is There Pasta In Lego Boxes?

    As previously reported by The Mary Sue, there’s no consensus as to why this is happening. That said, some internet users have theories.

    The most common theory is “return fraud.” This is where someone buys the product, then replaces the contents with something of a similar weight in order to return it to the store for credit. From there, they can either use or sell the contents.

    Some have speculated that this may be one of the reasons why it’s easy to find sealed packages of Lego without the box for sale online.

    Elise insists the bags have not been resealed. However, someone who is experienced in this practice may have developed methods for doing so that are nearly undetectable. They could have steamed the bags open and resealed them. Alternatively, they could have printed their own bags that match the Lego bags, then used them to package up pasta.

    Given the relatively high price of Lego and the low cost of pasta, it’s easy to see how even just a few successful attempts of this could net the scammer a major payday.

    But why pasta? Again, no one is sure. Some say its low cost, paired with its similar weight and sound in the box, may make it the ideal candidate for a Lego swap.

    In the comments section, users claimed that they had experienced something similar.

    “The same thing happened to me last year lol couldnt believe it hahaha,” said a user. “But Amazon gave me a refund.”

    “It happened the same thing to me , but i ordered it from a well known app,” recalled another. “But the problem is that i hadn’t opened it until 2 months later, so no refund and nothing just a very expensive bag of pasta.”

    “I bought a mario lego that was $200 after taxes im victoria drove home about 1 and half hours and opened the lego it was a bunch of random lego bags that did not go with the set,” recalled a third. “I balled my eyes out I didnt want to order it off lego and wait I saw it and wanted it and I didnt get what I want i open all big legos in store after purchase so it doesn’t happen again.”

    In a comment, Elise says she is currently pursuing a refund with the company.

    The Mary Sue reached out to Elise via TikTok direct message and comment and B&M via email.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Braden Bjella

    Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found in the Daily Dot, Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schon! magazine, and more.

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  • Can you put a hold on items at Kohl’s? Woman tries with viral ‘spicy’ book blanket: ‘She asked her manager’

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    Few online communities are forces to be reckoned with quite as fiercely as BookTok. Famed for its buying power and proclivity toward impassioned fandom, BookTok has been driving literary pop culture for years now—particularly regarding the “romantasy” genre.

    A portmanteau of “romance” and “fantasy,” romantasy has been enjoying a massive craze for years now, from the steamy fae romance series ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses‘ to the heat-filled dragons-and-magic books of ‘Fourth Wing.’

    This genre is rife with swords, steam, and soulmates. It is famed for being chock-full of delicious romance tropes.

    As such, is it any surprise that Kohl’s has made a “spicy blanket,” literally covered in romantasy tropes, and it’s gone viral?

    The quest for the spicy blanket

    In a viral TikTok first posted on Jan. 23, a book-lover named Abby (@abbyreads0) documented her search for the famed “spicy blanket.” Other videos on TikTok reveal this much-coveted blanket to be bright pink and covered in tropes like “enemies to lovers” and “slow burn.” Her clip has since racked up over 2.1 million views.

    Abby starts off her on-camera journey “braving the rain and the cold” to find the blanket for a friend. She films herself walking through Kohl’s and arriving at the blanket section. However, she was met with a glaring absence of spicy blankets.

    And so, in the same video, she documents another attempt on a different day, with no luck.

    “It’s not looking good,” she frets. “I talked to someone and I said, ‘Are you getting more? And she said she doesn’t know, but they are still getting Valentine’s Day stuff, so there’s hope … I will come back next week.”

    Alas, next week arrives, and Abby films herself not finding the blanket yet again. Thankfully, at this point, a worker swoops in to help.

    “Hope is not lost,” Abby says, revealing that a “kind” Kohl’s employee gave her an insider scoop. “She asked her manager and he said to come back on Thursday ’cause they have another a truck coming. So I’m gonna come back on Thursday.”

    Putting the blanket on hold

    Then, the employee pulled the most helpful move of all: Offering to put the blanket on hold when it came in.

    “She took my information down,” Abby says. “She was like … ‘If you like, ask me, I can put a hold on them.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, can you put a hold on them? So, we’re hopeful.”

    Alas, Abby’s story ends in mild tragedy. On yet another day of searching, the blanket is still not in stock, and another employee says that might not be changing anytime soon.

    “I’m officially calling it on the search,” Abby finishes. “I talked to another manager today, and she said that all the stuff has been taken off the truck. And then she looked up the blanket specifically and said, because it is out of stock online, they’re not likely to get it anywhere anymore. So, unfortunately, that’s it.”

    Viewers applauded Abby for the lengths she went to in order to procure a gift for a friend.

    “I think you’re an awesome friend for caring enough to go on a wild goose chase for something so simple you know it would be so meaningful to them,” one person commented. “I would love to have a friend who cared about me that much!”

    @abbyreads0 #booktok #bookish #bookblanket #spicybookblanket #kohls ♬ original sound – Abby ?

    What is Kohl’s official hold policy?

    While Kohl’s website outlines its Buy Online, Pick Up in Store policy (which seems to be the “official” way to get something put on hold), it does not detail an official policy for in-store holds.

    Instead, it seems in-store holds are subject to the policies of individual locations and their respective management personnel. Online members of the subreddit r/employedbykohls have referenced “Kohl’s [allowing] customers to hold items in [their] back room for a day or two.”

    The Mary Sue has reached out to Abby and Kohl’s via email to request additional comment.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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  • Does drinking warm water help digestion?

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    Many people start their day with a cup of coffee. But recently, some TikTok users encouraged drinking hot water in the morning instead to help with digestion. 

    Alternative medicine practices like traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, which originated in India and Nepal, have long encouraged hot water drinking.

    As the warm-water wave has swept the U.S., several TikTok users report that the morning ritual leads to more regular bowel movements and feeling less bloated. 

    Should you turn on the kettle after you wake up? Water almost any time is good. But we took a closer look at the science behind this latest trend. 

    Is this trend safe to try? 

    For most healthy adults: Yes! 

    Just make sure the water is not so hot that it burns. Plus, drinking extremely hot water, above 149 degrees Fahrenheit, may raise the risk of esophageal cancer, according to the World Health Organization.

    If warm water makes you feel more relaxed or regular, then go for it. Linking water consumption to a routine can help you remember to stay well-hydrated, but experts said that drinking warm water should not be a substitute for medical care.

    Experts also warn some people may react poorly to warm water. Grace Derocha, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said that for people with acid reflux, gastroparesis, or temperature sensitivity, warm water may worsen symptoms — while others may find it soothing. 

    Hydration is beneficial for digestion 

    Staying hydrated helps digestive systems function properly. Drinking water regularly (hot or cold) can soften stools, support nutrient absorption, and help waste move through the bowels.  

    It’s not surprising that a morning water routine can aid in the bathroom. 

    Water is also essential for the rest of your body’s processes. It improves skin, gets rid of waste and toxins, moves nutrients into cells, protects joints, and regulates body temperature. 

    But drinking water is beneficial regardless of its temperature.

    “The ‘best’ water is the one you will actually drink consistently,” Derocha said. 

    Is warm water better than cold water? Evidence is limited 

    Experts we spoke with said there is limited research showing that warm water is superior to cold water for digestion. 

    “A few small studies suggest warm liquids may slightly speed gastric emptying compared to cold liquids, particularly after surgery,” Derocha said. But these findings should not be generalized to everyday digestion.

    Dr. David Leiman, a gastroenterologist at Duke University, said there is some evidence that warmer liquids may speed up food moving through the esophagus and “potentially reduce some esophageal symptoms, though the mechanism for this is not clearly understood.” 

    Warm water may make people feel more relaxed, which can help with digestion, but most of our digestive processes — like enzyme secretion, bile release and nutrient absorption — are tightly regulated by the body and not dictated by beverage temperature, she said. 

    Plus, cold water doesn’t stay cold for long. Soon after cold water enters the body, it quickly warms to body temperature. 

    Water temperature may not have a huge impact on digestion, but it can make a difference for other ailments, such as soothing a sore throat or clearing a stuffy nose. 

    Claims about miraculous benefits from warm water are often overstated

    This trend isn’t dangerous, and for some people may be helpful, but several TikTok videos overstate what warm water has the power to do.

    Some videos claim that drinking hot water can “melt fat.” Fat digestion happens because of bile and enzymes in our digestive system, not heat. 

    Other videos say that warm water activates digestive enzymes. But those digestive enzymes work best at the body’s natural temperature, 98.6 degrees. 

    We also saw TikTok videos that said warm water is a good way to “detox.” Healthy bodies have a fantastic built-in detox system managed by the liver, kidneys, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. Hydration is important for the functioning of those systems, but the temperature of the water does not matter. 

    “The benefits people report are real, but they are more likely due to hydration, routine, and physiology than water temperature itself,” Derocha said. 

    Come on in — the water’s fine 

    Not all viral trends are safe to try (remember 2017’s Tide Pod eating challenge?), but this one is.

    Derocha advises pairing fluids “with fiber-rich foods, movement, and regular meals for digestive health.” If you continue to experience bad digestive symptoms, discuss them with your doctor. 

    “If interested, try it. It will do no harm for healthy people,” said Kantha Shelke, a food scientist and Johns Hopkins University senior lecturer. “Do not expect ‘detoxification’ or metabolic miracles. Listen to your body; if cold water bothers you, choose warm.”

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  • Woman drops hundreds on Chanel shoes at Harrods—only to return to the store less than a year later. Now people are questioning designer quality

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    A woman bought a pair of Chanel shoes at Harrods, a British department store. After only a year of using the shoes, she noticed that they were nearly unwearable due to a defect in one of the shoes. 

    The worst part? TikTok user Natalia Zabova (@badwifey_) took the shoes back to Harrods, and the store offered her little compensation for the defective shoe.

    “The service [told me] that it’s [my] fault, and [they] refused to do anything,” Zabova said. So, she took to TikTok, posting a video describing her experience, which has over 283,000 views. 

    How badly damaged were the shoes?

    Zabova noticed a defect in one of her Chanel shoes, but it was too late when she brought it to Harrods again. By the time she arrived in-store, one of the shoes was clearly falling apart, with the top half of the shoe separating from the sole. 

    Sole separation often happens when the sole of the shoe is not properly attached to the bottom.

    Generally, many brands rely on a construction method called “cemented construction.” They glue the shoes together and “cement” them in place rather than stitching them.

    Cemented construction is a fast way to create clean-looking shoes without putting in extra effort to create clean stitches. For that reason, many luxury brands rely on cementation. When shoes are glued together, though, it usually means that they’re more at risk for sole separation. 

    Usually, after a few years, shoes like the ones Zabova has may have some obvious sole separation. But, it’s not necessarily common for the sole to completely detach after only a year of regular or non-regular use. It depends on what Zabova did with her shoes beforehand, although it seems likely that her shoe actually had a defect based on her video.

    @badwifey_ And despite the fact that I live in England and could not carry them to such an extent, and only one shoe with a defect What to do in that case ? #luxury #lifestyle #creatorsearchinsights #chanel #foru @Harrods @ChanelOfficial @ChanelService ♬ take my breath away by berlin – ?ᥫ᭡?

    Luxury brands—worth purchasing or a waste of money?

    Many commenters shared their thoughts on luxury brands. Namely, that it’s a mistake to purchase any items from luxury stores. 

    One viewer added, “In my experience the more luxury you shop the worse the customer service.” 

    Another commented, “First mistake buying a fancy brand name instead of quality.” Zabova replied, saying, “I thought Chanel is quality.”

    Chanel’s Better Business Bureau page argues otherwise. Many people have apparently experienced Chanel products “falling apart” in their hands. 

    “Chanel sunglasses fell apart twice. [The] first issue appeared right after the purchase. Second few months after. [It] took over a month to get them fixed. They are falling apart again,” one complaint read. 

    Chanel buyers also had issues with the company’s leather, stating, “Purchased Chanel eyewear in a case represented as leather. [redacted] product could not have been leather. It’s all stripped and sticky.”

    @badwifey_ And despite the fact that I live in England and could not carry them to such an extent, and only one shoe with a defect What to do in that case ? #luxury #lifestyle #creatorsearchinsights #chanel #foru @Harrods @ChanelOfficial @ChanelService ♬ take my breath away by berlin – ?ᥫ᭡?

    The Mary Sue reached out to Zabova via TikTok direct message. We’ve also reached out to Harrods and Chanel via email.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Rachel Thomas

    Rachel Joy Thomas is a music journalist, freelance writer, and hopeful author who resides in Los Angeles, CA. You can email her at [email protected].

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  • Hawaii couple picks up gender reveal cake. Then one wrong turn gives away the secret in the most unexpected way: ‘At least it really surprised you’

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    What was a carefully planned gender reveal in Hawaii turned into an accidental spoiler alert, all thanks to one wrong turn and a very unlucky cake casualty.

    The couple expecting thought they had the secret safely sealed in frosting. That is, until gravity (and poor car navigation) spoiled the surprise before they even made it home. Instead of a dramatic reveal moment, they got a palmful of cake, a very visible splash of bright blue, and the kind of story no balloon pop or confetti cannon could ever top. 

    Something Blue

    Stephanie (@stephaniendraper) has dedicated a handful of TikToks to showcasing her journey with her first pregnancy. This particular video concerning the gender reveal has garnered 523,000 views and almost 2,000 comments.

    The video begins from the point-of-view of the driver, in this case, Stephanie’s husband. The camera pans to the passenger seat, and viewers get an eyeful of cake in his outstretched palm, Stephanie gripping the trembling cake and the shocker–bright blue hues. The cake seemed like it was carefully frosted in white, but now a chunk lies in Stephanie’s husband’s palm, and the secret is out. As they both laugh at the situation, her husband offers her to take a bite.

    Stephanie declines, and we then see him taste test it from his palm. At this moment, it seems the couple realizes they are still in the situation, saying that the cake is everywhere and they need to pull over.

    The husband manoeuvres the car with one hand and continues eating the cake with the other. Stephanie says, “I’m literally crying,” as she looks on in disbelief.

    The clip zooms in on her face, and the text overlay says: “Finally hitting me at this moment that we are having a BOY!”

    As the car slows down, the husband brings down the window and talks to presumably a pedestrian. He says, “Sorry. A cake collapsed while I was turning in. We’re having a boy, by the way.”

    They both laugh and Stephanie says, “This is so on brand right now.” The caption of the TikTok adds, “We would not have wanted it any other way! Best Gender Reveal!”

    Who’s at Fault for the Gender Reveal?

    Noting other gender reveal stories, the internet says that Stephanie lucked out. Other couples haven’t been so lucky. The Mary Sue covered a story where a couple’s cake revealed the wrong gender of their baby.

    The medical document covered the gender with a blue sticky note, and the baker interpreted it as it being a boy. Upon looking at the document just to make sure, the couple saw that they are actually going to have a baby girl. The viewers took to criticizing the baker for their mistake. Such viewers also wanted to blame Stephanie’s appointed baker. However, she quickly clears the air after a viewer asks why the cake wasn’t delivered to them in a box. 

    “Because this was a homemade cake from our close friend from down the street of our small town in Northshore Hawai’i who is not a baker but was kind enough to take on the challenge because we didn’t want anyone else to be part of this journey with us but her,” she wrote. “She put it on a cake stand because that’s what she had at home and we love it! We love the idea that it was homemade with love. Especially from someone close to us and has never done it before. That’s what made it so special.”

    @stephaniendraper We would not have wanted it any other way! Best Gender Reveal! ??? #genderreveal #funnytiktok #pregnant #babytiktok ♬ original sound – Stephanie Nguyen Draper

    Viewers Say: ‘A Win is a Win’

    Some viewers can’t help but acknowledge the couple’s wholesome reaction. One viewer writes, “How you guys reacted to this really solidifies what good parents you’ll be!!” In a similar fashion, another viewer shares, “This is parenthood! You passed the test!”

    “It was meant to be an intimate fun moment with just the two of you,” says a third. 

    Some find it sweet how the husband dealt with the news. One viewer focuses on how he proudly stated, “We’re having a boy by the way!” While another adds, “He told the FIRST PERSON HE COULD.” A third praises, “I love this so much. he is SO CHILL.”

    One viewer says, “Someone else should have picked the cake up. i’m glad u weren’t upset though.” Stephanie answers, “Would have not wanted it any other way.” 

    The Mary Sue reached out to Stephanie via TikTok comment.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Gisselle Hernandez

    Gisselle Hernandez-Gomez is a contributing reporter to the Mary Sue. Her work has appeared in the Daily Dot, Business Insider, Fodor’s Travel and more.

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  • Philadelphia woman orders used Prada bag. Then she reveals why you should be shopping on Japanese eBay: ‘Where do you think I get my Birkins!’

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    eBay is one of the largest destinations for bargain hunters where a plethora of vintage, preowned, and designer products across the site. Oftentimes, photos and descriptions of items can be deceiving, so you never know the quality of the item until you open that package.

    As a result, American buyers (specifically those who have name brand taste) have been switching to Japanese eBay.

    What Is Japanese eBay?

    Now, you’re probably thinking this is the Japanese version of the popular e-commerce site. At one point, a the e-commerce site created one in 2001. Three years later, the company shut it down because it failed to appeal to its target audience, according to Japan Rabbit. Although the site hasn’t existed for over 20 years, purchasing merchandise from Japanese-based eBay sellers has become increasingly popular. Since the country is strict with their laws about counterfeits, deal seekers who are searching for quality secondhand designer bags are flocking to it, VICE states.

    Philadelphia-based TikTok creator Whitney (@wokemama) is one of them.

    Prada Bag Success

    “So, this is my first Japanese eBay purchase,” she says, holding up a faded Prada Canapa denim tote bag. “This bag is supposed be super used.” When she lifts the bag, there isn’t a tear or scratch in sight. “There’s the normal wear but it’s a denim bag. Denim is meant to be[…]distressed,” the content creator says. “She’s cute. I like her. She doesn’t have a smell.”

    Then, Whitney examines other areas of the bag, which is clean and crisp. “The hardware, she’s shiny. Inside, she clean,” the content creator says. Not only is her bag in neatly immaculate condition, she discovered an unexpected surprise.

    “I didn’t even know this because it wasn’t even in the listing: Authenticity card and the original tag,” she shares, holding a leather burgundy tag. To top it all off, the package arrived within days. “I think I ordered this last Saturday and it was here by Tuesday,” she says.

    Needless to say, the content creator intends to purchase more from the Brand Street Tokyo seller. “I got bit by that bug bad and I will be back,” she concludes.

    Viewers Sang Their Praises

    The clip garnered over 225,000 views. Like Whitney, viewers were fixated on this section of the auction site.

    “Japanese eBay got my sought after LeCreuset items. Japanese sellers have me hooked,” one viewer commented.

    “Girl! where do you think I get my Birkins!! They even have the stamp inside, I sell them here stateside for $300, love them!!” another applauded.

    “I’m addicted… I’m in my 6th order in 2 months,” a third stated.

    Meanwhile, those who weren’t aware were others rushing to it.

    “Let me head over to Japanese EBay,” one commenter said.

    “How do you get to said Japanese eBay?” a second asked.

    Because viewers requested, Whitney shared in the comments section how access it. “On eBay, go to ‘advance settings,’ type what you want in the top search bar, then scroll down until you see location and select Japan,” she explained.

    @thewokemama Replying to @Bree Sharee Reads let’s talk about it Bag from @Brand Street Tokyo ♬ original sound – Shirley Chisholm Folding Chair

    The Mary Sue reached out to Whitney via email and TikTok comment.

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    Melody Heald

    Melody Heald is a culture writer. Her work can be found in Glitter Magazine, BUST Magazine, The Daily Dot, and more. You can email her at: [email protected]

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  • Woman says you can watch streaming services like Netflix, Hulu without paying monthly fee. You just need this item from Walmart: ‘I’m gonna buy one’

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    Sick of paying for subscriptions? So is everyone else.

    A 2024 survey found that Americans have an average of 4.5 subscriptions, costing them almost $1,000 annually. Not only that, but nearly a quarter of Americans spend over $100 per month on subscriptions.

    Americans have so many subscriptions, in fact, that many report having subscription fatigue, where they say they are tired of navigating a maze of subscriptions to access to the content that they want.

    But is there a solution to this problem? One woman says that there is — and it can be purchased from Walmart.

    How Can You Watch Movies And TV Shows For Free?

    In a video with over 1 million views, TikTok user Kat (@kat..withak) explains how she managed to access loads of subscription content without paying hefty subscription prices.

    After listing various subscription services and their prices, Kat asks a question: “What if I told you that you can cancel all of those subscriptions?”

    How? Through something called a Superbox—which she says is available at Walmart for $320.

    According to Kat, one buys this product, hooks it up to their TV, then downloads four different apps. Once these apps have been downloaded, they can begin watching television and movies for free, no subscription needed.

    “I watched a YouTube video to figure this out. It’s so easy,” she says. “If I can do it, anyone can do it.”

    Over the course of the rest of the video, she shows off the various movies and shows that one can watch using the Superbox. She notes that there are many ease-of-use features of the box, including search by voice and the ability to remember one’s place if they exit a show. They can also revisit TV shows up to seven days after they’ve been on TV.

    “The amount of money we’re saving per month because of this is crazy,” she says.

    How Is This Possible?

    The features that Kat advertises are, as many commenters suspected, only possible through the power of piracy.

    The “SuperBox” is simply a custom Android TV box. Apps offered via the box include IPTV apps, which allow for streaming of live television, and apps that allow one to access movie streaming.

    A website that appears connected to the SuperBox claims that the box itself is not illegal. According to the site, “SuperBox is a totally legal Android TV box. Watching a stream of movies, TV shows, Sporting events won’t violate U.S. copyright law. You won’t encounter a law issue unless uploading, downloading, or broadcasting content to a large group.” It’s unclear what this means, as streaming content does involve downloading it. 

    In general, streaming any content that you do not have the license to stream is illegal. While you may not get in immediate legal trouble, the illegality of the act of this kind of streaming means that the streaming services powering these apps are likely to get taken offline. For example, last year, a major IPTV service with 22 million users was shut down by authorities.

    This means that one may find themselves downloading different apps and different services over and over again just to keep up with their content. Not only that, but some of these apps may stream in low quality or have significant security vulnerabilities.

    @kat..withak #boujeeonabudget #superboxs7max #superbox #walmart ♬ original sound – Kat

    Illegal or not, many commenters under Kat’s video were excited by the idea of not paying money to stream shows and movies.

    “I’m guessing the only downfall would be that you need one for each TV in your home,” wrote a user.

    “So we bringing back the ‘black box,’” added another. “90s kids remember!!!”

    “Us Arabs have been using versions of these for decades to get our Arabic channels. Perk is every Netflix, cable channels, movies come with it too and every language worldwide,” shared a third. “It’s life changing.”

    We’ve reached out to Kat via TikTok DM and comment, Walmart via media relations contact form, and Superbox via email.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Braden Bjella

    Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found in the Daily Dot, Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schon! magazine, and more.

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  • Social Platforms Are Moving Onto TV Screens—Industry Experts Explain Why

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    As linear TV fades, social platforms are racing to become the next big screen for entertainment. Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Is social media the new TV? Cable and linear television have been in decline for years, especially as younger generations consume more entertainment on their phones. In response, traditional studios and streaming services have been experimenting with social platforms. Peacock tested the waters by uploading clips from its comedy Killing It to TikTok, while Paramount broke its 2006 film Mean Girls into several parts on the same platform.

    At the same time, microdramas—short, bite-sized video series designed for mobile viewing—have surged in popularity. Networks like TelevisaUnivision and Telemundo have been launching original microdramas. Earlier this month at CES, Disney announced it would begin releasing “microcontent” on Disney+. But what happens when social media doesn’t just live on phones and starts moving into traditional TV screens and living rooms?

    In December, Instagram announced it was testing an “Instagram for TV” app that allows users to watch Reels on their televisions. TikTok previously made a similar push with TV apps, before they were discontinued due to compliance with new laws.

    On the advertiser side, Pinterest recently acquired connected TV (CTV) ad-buying platform tvScientific, signaling that the company believes advertising dollars may start shifting toward living room viewing for its platform.

    That shift is already underway. Social video is now the second-most-watched video type on TVs, according to research from Parks Associates.

    Jennifer Kent, SVP and principal analyst at Parks Associates, said this trend is blurring the lines between traditional video media and social video strategies, particularly as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok push for more TV-based viewing.

    Kent added that this also correlates with the growth of the creator economy, as traditional media companies partner with creators or launch initiatives dedicated to creator content. Amazon MGM Studios, for example, has collaborated with popular creators like MrBeast on projects such as Beast Games to produce more premium programming. YouTube has also announced efforts to introduce more episodic formats for creator content.

    “Lines are blurring all over,” Kent said. “Everybody on the big screen wants to mimic what’s happening on social media, and everyone on social media wants to be on the big screen.”

    She added, “The important impact of all of these social video platforms coming to the big screen is the way that they are raising expectations for everybody else that’s on the big screen—to be more interactive, to be more creative with formats, to engage with new creators that can speak to audiences in different ways.”

    The growing pains of social media platforms

    The roughly $15 billion decline of the U.S. linear TV market has accelerated this experimentation, said Max Willens, a principal analyst at eMarketer. However, he noted that growing competition has also made social platforms more sensitive to slowing growth. For years, platforms could rely on two assumptions: that more users would join each year, and that those users would spend more time on their apps. That is no longer the case.

    According to eMarketer, time spent on social media in the U.S. is flatlining and is expected to begin gently declining starting next year.

    “Combine social media platforms realizing they don’t have the easy path toward incremental growth with the increasingly spread-out competition, and they face a lot of pressure to try to establish a beachhead on television screens as the budgets that used to go to linear advertisers come up for grabs,” Willens told Observer.

    Still, moving into living rooms isn’t a new idea. Willens pointed to YouTube, which launched as a desktop platform, became mobile-first, and is now a major force in TV viewing.

    YouTube has also said that more than 150 million Americans watch the platform on TV screens. Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge report found that YouTube captured 13.4 percent of TV viewing time, outpacing Disney’s 9.4 percent share. eMarketer research shows that Americans now spend roughly equal time watching YouTube on TV and on their phones.

    “That balance is going to persist over the next couple of years,” Willens predicted. “When you add all those things together, it’s not hard to understand why the social platforms are trying to position themselves on the biggest screen in the house.”

    Looking ahead, Willens said both media companies and social platforms will need to adjust their strategies as viewing habits continue to shift.

    “They’re all just screens at the end of the day, but it’s not like television has gone away,” he said. “Televisions are not just these big dusty boxes that our grandparents are looking at. They are still central hubs of leisure time for consumers of every age. So, advertisers and media companies have to figure out what’s different about that consumption and adjust their strategies accordingly.”

    Social Platforms Are Moving Onto TV Screens—Industry Experts Explain Why

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  • TikTok says its services are restored after the outage | TechCrunch

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    TikTok, which is under new ownership in the U.S., said Sunday that it has restored service after outages last week that marred user experiences. The social network has over 220 million users in the U.S.

    The company blamed last week’s snowstorm, which caused an outage at an Oracle-operated data center responsible for TikTok operations.

    “We have successfully restored TikTok back to normal after a significant outage caused by winter weather took down a primary U.S. data center site operated by Oracle. The winter storm led to a power outage which caused network and storage issues at the site and impacted tens of thousands of servers that help keep TikTok running in the U.S. This affected many of TikTok’s core features—from content posting and discovery to the real-time display of video likes and view counts,” the company said in a post on X.

    In January, the U.S. finalized the deal to create a separate entity for TikTok. A U.S.-based investor consortium called TikTok USDS took a controlling 80% stake, with the remaining 20% ownership held by ByteDance.

    Following the deal finalization — which coincided with the snowstorm — users experienced glitches in features like posting, searching within the app, slower load times, and time-outs. TikTok noted that creators might see zero views on their posts until the problem was resolved. Later, the company said that it was working on solving the issue, but outages persisted, and users faced problems with posting content.

    TikTok’s transition to a new ownership structure, paired with app snafus and user experience glitches, was beneficial for some other social networks. The Mark Cuban-backed short video app Skylight, which is built on the AT protocol, saw its user base soar to more than 380,000 users in the week the deal was finalized. Upscrolled, a social network by Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist Issam Hijazi, also climbed in App Store rankings to reach the second spot in the social media category in the U.S. The app was downloaded 41,000 times within days of the TikTok deal’s finalization, according to analyst firm AppFigures.

    Techcrunch event

    Boston, MA
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    June 23, 2026

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  • Texas man finds tattoo artist online. Then he gets scammed out of $300: ‘So many people saying the same thing’

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    Decades into the lifespan of the internet, “online” is still kind of the Wild West. Equal parts the perfect place to find small businesses and an unfortunate hotbed for scams, existing on the internet is as much of a coin flip as it is a thrill.

    Enter one Texas man, JP, who just wanted a nice, simple tattoo. His quest for one landed him a nightmarish experience with a shady character, resulting in JP being out several hundred dollars.

    And how did it all begin? TikTok, of course.

    ‘Be careful. I just got scammed’

    In a video initially posted in Dec. 2025, which has since accumulated over 3.6 million views, JP (@jiggajp_) tells his TikTok audience about a stressful saga in which he allegedly got “scammed” by a TikTok tattoo artist.

    “To yall out here trying to get a tattoo man,” JP begins in his video. “Be careful. I just got scammed.”

    JP says his experience with this tattoo artist started innocently enough: A TikTok search.

    “I was on TikTok trying to find me a tattoo artist in my local area … and I came across this dude with a good amount of following on his page,” JP says. “His name is Tattedbywiz. I hit him up and I texted him like, ‘Yo, I’m … trying to get tatted.”

    JP shares that as far as he could tell, Tattedbywiz seemed legit based on his TikTok profile.

    “Dude got his phone number up on his page and it’s been the consistent number on his page for a little while now,” JP shares. “So I’m thinking, OK, that’s a valid number. Valid dude all day.”

    At that point, JP says he started messaging Tattedbywiz, who told him the tattoo was only going to cost $500. This seemed “normal” and was “really damn good” for the kind of tattoo JP was after.

    But then came the catch.

    “He said $300 for the tattoo deposit,” JP says. “Oh. $300 deposit for a $500 tattoo? That’s a little hefty, but … I’m not mad at it. OK, cool.”

    JP says he sent Tattedbywiz the deposit, and admittedly felt “like a goofball for doing it,” but then Tattedbywiz escalated in response. Upon receiving JP’s deposit, Tattedbywiz immediately texted him saying that now he needs even more money.

    “‘We gonna need $200 so we can … get this wrote off my taxes,”” JP says Tattedbywiz told him. “‘So we can get the supplies and the utensils’ … What … you need $200 for stencils and materials? You just got the $300 from my security deposit. What the [expletive]?”

    But Tattedbywiz allegedly doubled down, repeating that he was going to “write off” the $200 and promising to send it back to JP after doing so. At this point, JP was deeply suspicious.

    “I’ve done business with a good amount of people,” JP says. “Nobody’s ever took money, wrote it off,
    sent it back. That’s just stupid as hell … I’m like, nah, man … I don’t really feel comfortable doing all that. Let me send it to you tomorrow first thing … Then the next day roll around, he hit me up like, ‘I sent you everything in the email and everything … All you need to do is just send me the rest of that payment
    and we’ll get everything set up.”

    Alas, there was no email in JP’s inbox.

    Tattedbywiz insisted it must have gone to spam. JP could still see nothing. Tattebywiz tripled down. Still nothing.

    “But then all the while, he’s still trying to press me making this payment,” JP says. “I’m like, yeah no …
    this [expletive] is a scammer. I should have known.”

    JP says he’d had a feeling this was a scam the night before, but he gave Tattedbywiz the benefit of the doubt because he “can be wrong” sometimes.

    At this point, JP says he asked for the location of Tattedbywiz’s tattoo parlor. After a couple of hours, Tattedbywiz “finally” sent JP an address.

    “I looked this mother[expletive] address up, it says some apartments,” JP says. “[Expletive] no, bro, I’m dead. That [expletive]’s over with. So I done politely asked dude, ‘Let me get a refund.’ That was the last message that done went through.”

    And that was that. JP could no longer get through to him. Tattedbywiz allegedly took the money and ran.

    Now, JP is trying to prevent others from meeting the same fate.

    “Do you ever wanna get a tattoo?” JP finishes. “Do not go to Tattedbywiz. He is a scammer. He will take your [expletive] money. And the moment you ask for a refund, he gonna ghost … Be careful, ’cause it happened to me.”

    @jiggajp_ Tattedbywiz is a scammer do not get a tattoo from him‼️#fyp ♬ original sound – Jp

    Scams on scams

    A cursory Internet search reveals this is not the time Tattedbywiz has been accused of “scamming.” A 2024 Instagram reel with its audio now removed shows screenshots of a Tattedbywiz customer requesting confirmation for an appointment that was paid for—confirmation which, allegedly, never came even though the payment was accepted.

    Now, typing “tattedbywiz” into the TikTok search bar yields dozens of dummy accounts whose usernames are all variations of his username. As one viewer noted in the comments section of JP’s video, “that’s how scams work – you get a person, use their likeness and in this case can use their job to scam people out of $$$ easy peasy.”

    Another viewer even began to theorize that Tattedbywiz himself was behind the dummy accounts, commenting, “It seem like he started creating new accounts, talking about ‘on this is my only page, the other is a scammer’ but it’s lit the same dude.”

    Some less charitable commenters clowned JP for giving up his money so uncritically, with several pointing out what they deemed to be obvious red flags from the jump.

    “Who looks on TikTok for an artist?” one viewer commented with a laughing emoji.

    “$300 deposit?” another laughed. “Come on bro.”

    “Soon as he said $200 for supplies, I would’ve been calling my bank asap,” another person commented.

    “Well can i have 300 since you just giving it out?” someone joked.

    As multiple viewers encouraged JP to “dispute” the charges and/or take legal action against Tattedbywiz, tattoo regulars and tattoo artists alike took to the comments to educate others on tattoo industry norms.

    “As a licensed tattoo artist myself, there is no such thing as payment for supplies,” one person commented. “We already have that u just payin for the tattoo.”

    “I am covered in tattoos and have never paid a deposit,” another wrote. “And to quote you $500 right off the bat?! Nope.”

    Entities like City National Bank, the VA, and the FTC all offer guidelines on how social media users can protect themselves from online scams. While scam victims are often conceptualized as the elderly in the public imagination, the FTC reports that “scams on social media are a problem for people of all ages, but the numbers are most striking for younger people. In the first six months of 2023, in reports of money lost to fraud by people 20-29, social media was the contact method more than 38% of the time.”

    The Mary Sue has reached out to JP via TikTok comment to request additional comment. Tattedbywiz appears to have become inactive online and was not reachable for comment.

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  • Content creators get hired for wedding in Miami. Then the photographer belittles their job—right in front of the bride: ‘He’s afraid’

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    You’d think that by now, especially among younger people, content creators or “influencers” would be accepted as part of the labor market. Apparently, that’s not the case.

    As TikToker Fanny (@vivafanny) shared, there are still people out there who think being a content creator is a “made-up job.”

    In a viral video that has racked up more than 1 million views, Fanny films a wedding photographer who openly dismisses the role of content creators at the event.

    What Did the Photographer Have to Say?

    “So as many of you may know,” Fanny begins, “content creation is now a thing for weddings.”

    She explains that the wedding photographer who confronted them was working alongside them and began criticizing and filming her and her business partner.

    So, she says she decided to film as well. Then Fanny cuts to the awkward conflict scene, where photographer Levy Hertzel is filming Fanny and her partner.

    “OK, we have here Emily and Michelle,” Hertzel says, standing next to the bride. “Could be their names. Who cares?” he states.

    “We told him our names before we started, but OK,” Fanny writes in the video’s text overlay.

    “They are what they call wedding day cellphone people,” Hertzel continues.

    “Content creators,” Fanny clarifies.

    “Basically, they couldn’t get a job anywhere,” Hertzel says. “Out of the kindness of the bride’s heart, she hired them to just stalk her with cellphones.”

    The bride is just there by Hertzel’s side, not really reacting at all.

    “They’re gonna be here all day. So if you have a job for them or food—they’re a little hungry—or a smoothie, then bring it over,” he says dismissively.

    “As if we look hungry,” Fanny wrote in the video’s text overlay. She then pans the camera around, showing Hertzel sarcastically blowing a kiss for the camera.

    In the comments section, viewers thought Hertzel’s actions were unacceptable.

    “As a photographer, this is so inappropriate,” one user wrote. “You guys were hired by the bride to do your job and this guy is literally making fun of you IN FRONT of the bride! I’m so sorry you had to deal with this!”

    Another commenter claimed the photographer’s comments were offensive to the bride herself. “He’s basically making fun of the bride too for hiring yall,” they wrote.

    “Excuse me!?!? With the bride right there???” asked a third. “This is so incredibly unprofessional by that photographer.”

    What Do Wedding Content Creators Do?

    As the name suggests, their role revolves around capturing every moment of the wedding.

    According to Rock n Roll Bride, a wedding content creator creates candid wedding footage from their phone, which a newlywed couple can receive shortly after the event.

    It’s unique because the turnover is quick, allowing the couple to feel like they’re posting in real-time.

    The main difference is that while photographers or videographers create professional content, wedding content creators make content specifically for social media.

    According to Reddit’s r/WeddingPhotography, a wedding content creator may cost around “$85/hr to $125/hr” per hour, depending on what package the client selects.

    @vivafanny please follow our business on IG @letsbefriendsmedia — lmk if he’s actually funny or just rude in the comments ? #fyp #wedding #weddingcontentcreator #contentcreator #weddingday ♬ original sound – vivafanny

    The Mary Sue has reached out to Fanny via email and Hertzel via TikTok and Instagram messages for official comment.

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    Ljeonida Mulabazi

    Ljeonida is a reporter and writer with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of Tirana in her native Albania. She has a particular interest in all things digital marketing; she considers herself a copywriter, content producer, SEO specialist, and passionate marketer. Ljeonida is based in Tbilisi, Georgia, and her work can also be found at the Daily Dot.

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  • Mom says JetBlue tried making her 1-year-old sit alone. Is she valid?: ‘Should be illegal’

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    Flying is enough of a nightmare as it is these days without adding impossible logistics into the mix. And what’s a challenging (if beloved) logistic at the best of times?

    Kiddos, of course!

    Flying with kids has never been easy. Though certain parents do seem to insist on making it more of a headache for everyone involved. However, this challenge is definitely not helped by chaos that results in flights, plans, and even seats being shuffled around.

    One mother has gone viral on TikTok after allegedly dealing with such chaos. Her kid wasn’t even 2 years old yet.

    What happened on this JetBlue flight?

    In a TikTok posted in Dec. 2025, which has since gotten over 200,000 views, mother Britney Maz (@britneymaz) shared a harrowing tale. She says she was allegedly almost separated from her son on a JetBlue flight. She recounts the story via captions on a video of her son peacefully playing in his seat on the plane.

    “JetBlue tried to separate me and my 22 month old son today,” Maz writes to start off the video. “Has this happened to anyone else?”

    Maz shares that the flight started like any other, and that things seemed normal when she’d initially booked tickets for herself and her son.

    “For context – when I booked we had seats together,” Maz writes. “They changed the plane and there were only middle seats available when I was notified (we were initially row 32, this plane only had 27 rows).”

    While this seemed stressful, Maz says she was promised it wouldn’t be an issue. They told her that she’d still be able to sit next to her son.

    “I called JetBlue (twice) and they assured me (twice) we would be re-assigned seats together,” she writes.

    Unfortunately, it turned out that was apparently not the case

    “We were assigned 18b and 19b and at the gate counter I was told we wouldn’t be able to sit together,” Maz writes. “They wound up putting us together but now before tears were shed and I was humiliated at the counter.”

    All in all, a deeply stressful lead-up to flying, which many parents already dread. Maz finishes her video by prompting other parents to chime in, as she “would love to know if [they’ve] had a similar experience.”

    @britneymaz I’m relieved the situation was resolved, but the whole experience was very stressful. I’m hesitant to book @JetBlue again after this trip. We used to love them and we fly a lot (my son has been on 14 flights and he’s not even 2). We have bought him a seat on every flight. As a parent traveling solo, I’m nervous this will happen again. Thoughts? *Note – the crew on this flight were incredible. So helpful and kind.* #traveltiktok #flyingwithkids #traveltips #airlinetiktok ♬ a dream is a wish your heart makes – christina perri

    Parents feel for Maz’s predicament

    Parents were quick to convey their sympathy to Maz. Some expressed a need to see tighter airline regulations that protect parents and children.

    “This should be illegal,” one viewer commented. “Like you asked me my kids age when I booked the seats: they should automatically be blocked from doing this to anyone 12 and under.”

    “You should not be allowed to book tickets without seat assignments when traveling with a minor,” another wrote.

    Some commenters were even cracking up. They imagined what would have happened if JetBlue ultimately hadn’t let Maz and her son sit together. They noted that hardly would have been an ideal flying experience for any of the passengers at all.

    “Bahahahah,” one commenter laughed. “Good luck to the seat mates.”

    “Can you imagine a 2yr old being sat next you that’s not yours?!” echoed another.

    In a reply to one commenter, Maz revealed she had actually initially “paid $500 per ticket and selected [both her and her son’s] seats when [she] booked.

    “I didn’t pay extra to be in the front of the plane because I know flight attendants will try to move kids having a meltdown to the back of the plane,” Maz wrote. “I booked at the back intentionally just in case that happened. JetBlue’s own policy is families will be sat together even in Blue Basic. I guess I had to pay even more to ensure me and my ‘infant in a seat’ stay together but that doesn’t seem right. That seems like a bait and switch, no?”

    What is the policy at JetBlue when it comes to seating?

    Under the ‘Family Seating’ section of JetBlue’s Customer Service Plan webpage, the airline says it guarantees “seating children under 13 with a parent or accompanying adult at no additional cost, even on Blue Basic fares” if the right conditions are met. These conditions include all passengers being “on the same reservation” and passengers making “no changes to seat assignments after they have been assigned.”

    However, these conditions do stipulate that Family Seating is only guaranteed if “there is no change from the originally planned aircraft to an aircraft with a different seat configuration.” In that event, the JetBlue guidelines say that “JetBlue will make every effort to seat children next to an accompanying adult.” However, if that’s still not possible, passengers still have several options to explore as part of the guarantee. This includes being rebooked at no additional cost to a new flight with adjacent seats.

    The Mary Sue has reached out to Maz via TikTok comment and JetBlue via email to request additional comment.

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  • Atlanta woman plans date with Hinge match. Then he creeps on her Instagram. Was his reaction a ‘humiliation ritual?’: ‘It’s so evil’

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    It’s no secret that people are having a hard time finding a long-term partner through dating apps. Women have it especially gnarly.

    Beyond the usual ghosting and being left wondering exactly what went wrong, there’s also a lack of care and attention when meeting up for the first time. One woman reported spending time getting ready for a coffee shop date to find the man had already ordered only his coffee.

    Then there’s getting discarded for something minimal, thanks to the many “fish” in the dating app “sea.” One woman says a man cancelled their first date simply after she told him she doesn’t drink.

    Now, TikTok creator Angie Cotti (@angiecotti) says her Hinge date intentionally put her through what she described as a “humiliation ritual.”

    What Did Her Hinge Match Do?

    “I’m really trying not to crash out right now,” she begins. “But I’m actually really [expletive].”

    Cotti explains that she had recently matched with a man on Hinge and initially felt optimistic about the connection.

    “I matched with this guy on Hinge,” she says. “He’s really chatty, funny, playful.”

    According to Cotti, the conversation progressed quickly. The man asked for her phone number, and the two had plans to go out the following night.

    “We were gonna go out tomorrow night, right?” she says.

    At one point, she says, the man texted her his Instagram handle. “He texted me, ‘Hey, here’s my Instagram, creep if you want to,’” Cotti recalls.

    She says she looked him up, noticed his account was private, and sent a follow request. That’s when he did something she didn’t expect.

    “I go back to Hinge,” she says, “and he unmatched me.”

    At first, Cotti says she tried to rationalize it. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s weird. Maybe because he already has my number,’” she explains.

    Then She Checks Instagram Again

    “I’m like, ‘I’m gonna see if he accepted my follow request,’” she says. “Blocked on Instagram.”

    Cotti says the sudden unmatching and block left her flabbergasted. “How is that supposed to make me feel?” she asks.

    She acknowledges that the simplest explanation may be that he just wasn’t interested, but says the way it unfolded wasn’t right. “I’m like, ‘Did he look at my Instagram and think I was ugly?’” she wonders.

    Cotti becomes more emotional as she talks about dating in general in this day and age.

    “I am really having a hard time with dating,” she says. “And I don’t know how to make that not about me, because that really hurt my feelings.”

    She ends the video sounding exhausted and discouraged. “I just don’t understand these freaking men,” she says. “I am so over this. I don’t want to be doing this.”

    While she acknowledges that dating apps are often how people meet now, she questions the emotional toll.

    “I know this is how you find people,” Cotti says. “But at what cost?”

    In the comments section, viewers mostly discussed Hinge and dating apps in general.

    “I truly believe the men you meet on the apps are people you would never cross paths with in the real world. Most of the men left on there are bizarre,” stated one user. “Free yourself from the apps.”

    “Babe you have to change your mindset – the things they do are ALWAYS ABOUT THEM AND NOT YOU,” another chimed in. “What he did was a blessing, he eliminated himself and did you a favor to move forward in your journey. Think in a way that favors you.”

    “They do this literally just to upset you,” claimed a third.

    Do Dating Apps Actually Produce Marriages?

    According to the Pew Research Center, chances for marriage—the most popular choice for long-term commitment—are slim if you’re on a dating app.

    Their 2022 survey found that 52% of U.S. adults who have never been married reported using a dating app, compared to just 16% of married respondents.

    Elinor Greenberg, Ph.D., wrote about the issue for Psychology Today, saying dating apps lead to mismatches because people end up on dates with someone they never would’ve gone out with if they first met them in person.

    Her advice is to prioritize socializing and choosing someone you have a mutual attraction and understanding with before taking things further.

    @angiecotti I know I need to put myself out there but good lord I already want to delete it!!!!!! #datinginyour20s #hinge #apps ♬ original sound – angiecotti

    The Mary Sue has reached out to Hinge and Cotti via email.

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    Ljeonida is a reporter and writer with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of Tirana in her native Albania. She has a particular interest in all things digital marketing; she considers herself a copywriter, content producer, SEO specialist, and passionate marketer. Ljeonida is based in Tbilisi, Georgia, and her work can also be found at the Daily Dot.

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  • Utah woman says her close friend is way too touchy with her husband. The young mom needs to know: Is their relationship too friendly?

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    Nothing sends TikTokers into DEFCON-1 faster than a “bestie” who can’t keep her hands off someone else’s husband.

    One Utah mom shared her now-viral confession on TikTok, spilling that her close friend is constantly touching, lingering, and orbiting her husband like it’s her full-time job. She even follows him around the room when he tries to create space. The twist? This so-called touchy-feely friend is married, too. The wife insists she trusts her husband and doesn’t think he’s interested, but the viewers have other ideas. 

    How friendly is too friendly?

    It seems that the new episode of The Real Housewives has dropped–oh wait, actually it’s the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. No, really. This is what Ashtyn Smith’s (@ashtynsmithrn) friend said they could be. Yes, the same friend who is touchy with her husband. The story all unravels when Smith posts a series of TikToks asking for advice. The first clip has 856,000 views and over 4,000 comments. Her text overlay shares: “Need advice yall. What do I do about this.” 

    Smith begins by saying that her friend, who is also married, is very touchy with her husband.

    “Like she touches him multiple times that they’re together for like five minutes,” Smith says. She clarifies that her friend’s husband is also friends with them, so they all know each other.

    In another clip, she also says their kids are friends, so she’s trying to be careful. Apparently, she feels so uncomfortable and even gets anxiety prior to hanging out with the friend.

    “Even when he moves around the couch, she’ll like follow him and stand next to him,” Smith says, adding that she’s “not worried” about her husband but simply wants advice on how to deal with her friend because she’s a “good friend” and doesn’t want to lose her.

    More Red Flags

    In the following update clips, Smith shares a little more about the situation and how she and her husband plan to deal with it. In the second clip of 70,000 views, she shares some “red flags” she should have noticed a long time ago. According to her, her friend has also told the husband that he “looks so cute” in his outfits.

    In another example, the friend would suggest that Smith “send your husband over with the kids” so she could feed them dinner. Smith thought this was an innocent and kind offer, but is now rethinking the motives. She says her friend is currently on a trip, but once she returns, Smith will take what viewers have given for advice and utilize it.

    What Will She Do?

    In part three of the story, Smith shares the “plan” she and her husband came up with. They plan to distance themselves for a few weeks first and once upon meeting again, if the friend gets touchy, Smith will “call her out.” She thinks that if she confronts her and tells her it is weird, then that will “shock” her. The creator goes on to share that after posting on TikTok for advice, she feels validated and can accept that it is, in fact, a strange thing for someone to do. She also says, “I don’t think my husband is interested at all, but it’s still just a hard situation.”

    Under that clip, viewers seem to agree as one in declaring that Smith should not be the one to call her friend out. The top comment with over 2,500 likes states, “I feel it’s HIS place to say something to her and say it in front of you.”

    Other viewers seem to focus on another aspect. “Wait. You ‘don’t think’ your husband is interested? Sis………” says one viewer. 

    @ashtynsmithrn OK, I feel so bad even posting this, but I literally need some advice because I feel like she just gets more and more comfortable with doing it. What do I do?! #needadvice #marriedcouple #help ♬ original sound – AshtynsmithRN

    Viewers are Side-eyeing the Marriage

    Many viewers are eager to jump to Smith concerning her marriage. One viewer, however, asks the important question of whether Smith has spoken to her husband about it. Her reply: “Yes and he doesn’t like it either.” 

    The rest of the comments are not that optimistic. “No just no. My best friend was always hugging and touchy to my husband. He didn’t respond and even looked uncomfortable. Couple years later started a seven year affair. I found out last year. Absolute devastation. He should have set boundaries from the very beginning,” shares one viewer. 

    Another viewer simply says, “She likes him.” A second shares, “She’s testing your (and his) boundaries. A ‘good friend’ doesn’t do that. Trust your intuition here.” 

    Lastly, one says, “They already have something going on.”

    Of course, some do deliver advice. One viewer says, “Normalize letting people know when they make you feel uncomfortable.” 

    Another shares a dialogue for Smith to use: “Listen friend, I appreciate your friendship and hanging out with you and your husband, however the amount of attention being given to my husband is making me uncomfortable. I would appreciate you being mindful around us and keeping your hands to yourself. Thank you.”

    The Mary Sue reached out to Smith via email.

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    Gisselle Hernandez-Gomez is a contributing reporter to the Mary Sue. Her work has appeared in the Daily Dot, Business Insider, Fodor’s Travel and more.

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  • Couple buys $8,000 Lovesac couch. Then it arrives: ‘$8000 for upgraded IKEA is insanity’

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    Be careful what you shop for. You might just bite off more than you can chew. No one has learned this lesson more thoroughly than one woman who’s currently going viral for purchasing the couch to end all couches. Absolutely overwhelmed by the “great wall” of couch parts taking over her house, she’s brought us into her home to witness the carnage firsthand. Despite the logistical headache, she’s still loving the Lovesac couch itself.

    What’s up with the Lovesac couch?

    In a viral TikTok posted on Jan. 11 that has since accumulated over 4.7 million views, Tracy (@tracytellsit) shares her experience after purchasing one of Lovesac’s “sactional” couches, where the prices range from $5,000 to $9,000 pre-discount.

    “Ever wondered what it’s like when you buy a Lovesac?” she begins in the video. “You know, one that you’ve been, like, looking at for three years and then finally bit the bullet? … This is it.”

    Tracy then flips the camera away from her face to show the room she’s standing in, and it’s… absolutely littered with boxes. Nearly every available inch of floor and table space is covered in empty boxes and broken-down couch parts. And it doesn’t end there.

    “There’s more empty boxes in that room,” Tracy continues, showing viewers around a house that is indeed full of Lovesac materials in pretty much every room. “Those are all broken down. That’s all corner post pieces. The house is a disaster because we had to move everything out of the living room in order to start to build it.”

    The video truly becomes comical as Tracy walks viewers through more and more of her house. She reveals more boxes, couch parts, and towers of precariously stacked cushions.

    “And this isn’t even all of it,” Tracy finishes. “It’s literally in so many places. The Great Wall of Lovesac.”

    While it seems Tracy entered this particular fray willingly and good-naturedly, viewers didn’t hold back in her comments section. Multiple commenters chimed in with some good-old-fashioned clowning.

    “Tell me you didn’t research it – without telling me,” commented one viewer.

    “Yall need to stop supporting businesses that don’t offer bare minimum services for obscene prices,” wrote another.

    “You bought a Lego couch that can be rearranged and wondered why it came in pieces?” joked one commenter.

    People didn’t like the price tag

    Many viewers were just confused why anyone would go for such an expensive piece of furniture in the first place, with one person remarking, “Problems out of my tax bracket.”

    “That’s such a wild price for such a basic piece of furniture,” another viewer commented.

    “I cannot imagine paying that much $ for a couch let alone one I have to assemble and deal with all those boxes,” wrote another.

    “Absolutely not,” agreed yet another commenter. “8000 and no set up is ridiculous.”

    It also appears Tracy’s video has brought out folks with personal beefs against Lovesac. Interior designer Libby Yozamp commented, “As an interior designer, i despise lovesac” beneath Tracy’s video.

    Delivery drivers aren’t thrilled, either

    “One love sac is usually 32 boxes, that each weight about 20-40lbs,” commented a viewer. “Sincerely a former FedEx driver who hates them dearly.”

    “UPS loader here,” wrote another. “I hate lovesac with a fire passion, and I hope the 30+ boxes inconvenience you dearly.”

    One account dedicated to furniture and interior design also chimed in to give Tracy and her viewers tips on possible alternatives.

    “Smith Brothers, Huntington House, Norwalk, American leather… all fantastic companies that are solid wood, American Made, and doesn’t require assembly,” they wrote. “$8000 for upgraded IKEA is insanity.”

    @tracytellsit I can’t wait to see it finally finished but my honest review so far is it definitely needs time to break in. Stuff & tough to get together but I know overtime it will get easier #lovesac #sactional #blackfriday #splurge ♬ original sound – Tracy Tells It All ??‍♀️

    Tracy’s verdict, when all is said and done

    So how is the couch, finally, once all the dust has settled and the construction is actually completed? Tracy told The Mary Sue via email that the gargantuan piece of furniture was worth the cash.

    “I will say my salesperson did warn me how many boxes they come in,” Tracy admitted via email. “But nothing truly prepares you for how much trash you’ll have and how the pieces multiply like rabbits as you unbox them! Truly such a well packed product and worth every single penny.”

    Tracy joked that “putting it together was a true test of [her] marriage though,” as building “always is,” but she assured The Mary Sue humorously that hers is “still going strong.”

    Tracy also took the time to send a proper review of the couch after finally being able to enjoy it after all that work. She maintains it’s exactly the kind of couch she’s been looking for and very much justifies its steep price tag.

    “I don’t consider it a boujee purchase,” Tracy wrote to The Mary Sue. Instead, she says she considers it “an investment.”

    “I waited and saved for three years before biting the bullet. Mainly because of the price but also to make sure I was investing in something that made sense,” she shared. “I had my last living room set for close to a decade and knew I wanted to find something I could truly wash every inch of. No other product on the market checked all the boxes like Lovesac did. Machine washable, modular, easy to change, high quality, finished storage compartments- the list goes on. We plan to keep this couch through moves, kids, pets and just life. Friends have had theirs for years and swear by it!”

    The Mary Sue has also reached out to Lovesac via email to request additional comment.

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