Gallon smashing is the act of spilling a gallon of liquid, usually by breaking its container, in a manner that appears to be accidental. The act often involves throwing a gallon of milk onto a grocery store aisle, then falling, getting members of the public to help the 'smasher' get up, and sometimes having difficulty returning to a standing position. [1] [2] The act is generally done as a "prank" meant to share on the internet, and so typically recorded on camera.
Gallon smashing gained popularity in 2013 after three teenagers from Vienna, Virginia posted videos of the act on their YouTube channel. The videos received more than three million views before being taken down. [3] [4] Teenagers around the world mimicked the act, posting dozens of filmed incidents online. [1]
In March 2013, the Fairfax County Police Department charged the teens with seven counts of disorderly conduct and destruction of property. [1] [5] That same month, a teenager from Sussex County, New Jersey was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct after a video of him gallon-smashing was posted on Facebook. [6] Citations for misdemeanor criminal mischief and theft were also issued in Butte, Montana in March 2013. [7] Following the arrest in New Jersey, a spokesperson for Wakefern Food Corporation claimed that the company was taking steps to combat the trend. [6]
Gallon smashing has led to several cases of actual injuries, usually as a result of the participant or unwitting members of the public slipping and falling after the liquid is spilt, while the act of throwing heavy gallon bottles during challenge attempts has also resulted in participants damaging shelving and refrigerator units in supermarkets. In the United Kingdom, one attempt resulted in the vandal receiving a broken jaw. [8]
The viral nature of gallon-smashing has been compared to the Harlem Shake, planking, and Tebowing. [6]
Mischief Night is an informal holiday on which children, teenagers and adults engage in jokes, pranks, vandalism, or parties. It is known by a variety of names including Devil's Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, Moving Night, Cabbage Night, Mystery Night and Mat Night.
Knock, knock, ginger is a prank or game dating back to 19th-century England, or possibly the earlier Cornish traditional holiday of Nickanan Night. The game is played by children in many cultures. It involves knocking on the front door of a victim, then running away before the door can be answered.
Egging is the act of throwing eggs at people or property. The eggs are usually raw, but can be hard-boiled or rotten.
Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or videos, primarily between mobile phones. It may also include the use of a computer or any digital device. The term was first popularized early in the 21st century and is a portmanteau of sex and texting, where the latter is meant in the wide sense of sending a text possibly with images. Sexting is not an isolated phenomenon but one of many different types of sexual interaction in digital contexts that is related to sexual arousal.
"Knockout game" is one of the names given in the United States for assaults in which a person attempts to make an unsuspecting victim lose consciousness with a single sucker punch. The assaults have similarities to the happy slapping trend seen in Europe, in which camera phones are used to record assaults. Other names given to assaults of this type include "knockout", "knockout king", "point 'em out, knock 'em out", and "polar-bearing" or "polar-bear hunting".
Planking is an activity consisting of lying in a face-down position, sometimes in an unusual or incongruous location. The palms of the hands are typically touching the sides of the body and the toes are typically touching the ground. Some players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it is supported in only some regions, with other parts of the body suspended. Many participants in planking have photographed the activity in unusual locations and have shared such pictures through social media.
The cinnamon challenge is a viral internet food challenge. Participants film themselves eating a spoonful of ground cinnamon in under 60 seconds without drinking anything, with the video being uploaded to the Internet as evidence. The challenge is difficult and carries substantial health risks because the cinnamon coats and dries the mouth and throat, resulting in coughing, gagging, vomiting, and inhalation of cinnamon, which can in turn lead to throat irritation, breathing difficulties, and risk of pneumonia or a collapsed lung.
PrankvsPrank, also known as PvP, is a YouTube channel created by Jesse Michael Wellens and his then-girlfriend Jennifer "Jeana" Smith. In 2007, the two began to play pranks on each other and post videos of the pranks on websites, eventually forming a channel on YouTube. They became one of the most-watched channels. The channel has more than 1.8 billion video views and more than 10.2 million subscribers as of February 2017. After Wellens and Smith split in May 2016, Wellens became the sole user of the channel.
Rehtaeh Anne Parsons, was a 17-year-old Cole Harbour District High School student who attempted suicide by hanging at her home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on April 4, 2013, leading to a coma and the decision to switch her life support machine off on April 7, 2013. Her death has been attributed to online distribution of photos of an alleged gang rape that occurred 17 months prior to her suicide, in November 2011. On a Facebook page set up in tribute to her daughter, Parsons' mother blamed the four boys who allegedly raped and released images of her, the subsequent constant "bullying and messaging and harassment", and the failure of the Canadian justice system, for her daughter's decision to die by suicide.
Skylar Annette Neese was an American teenage girl who disappeared from her home in Star City, West Virginia, around midnight on July 6, 2012. Neese's body was found in January 2013, across the nearby state line, in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Stone throwing or rock throwing, when it is directed at another person, is often considered a form of criminal battery. In certain political contexts, stone-throwing is considered a form of civil resistance.
The 2015 Texas pool party incident, also known as the "McKinney pool party", was a civil disturbance that occurred on June 5, 2015, at a pool party in McKinney, Texas, United States.
On June 18, 2017, Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old American girl from Reston, Virginia, was raped and murdered. The killer was Darwin Martinez Torres, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who was 22 at the time. He was indicted for Hassanen's rape and murder and subsequently pleaded guilty to four counts of capital murder, three counts of rape, and one count of abduction. In March 2019, he was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the crimes. Police identified the murder as an apparent act of road rage, and not a hate crime.
Christopher John Lewis was a New Zealand criminal who made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II in 1981. He planned later attempts at assassinating other British royal family members but was kept away from them by the authorities in New Zealand.
Internet challenges are a popular phenomenon on the Internet, encompassing a wide range of videos in which individuals record themselves performing specific actions or tasks, often daring others to do the same. These challenges have become a significant part of Internet meme culture, with many of them gaining widespread attention and popularity through memes. Notable examples of such challenges include the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, which gained viral status in mid-2014, and the TrashTag Challenge, which became popular in 2019.
The murder of Mohammad Anwar occurred on March 23, 2021, as a result of a daylight carjacking by two teenage girls next to Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
