'It's Great for Hormones': Influencer is Encouraging People to Flavor Their Water With Laundry Detergent

"Tide Pod challenge walked so this could run."

That's what @BingoClashAvia had to say about the latest TikTok health and hydration hack: putting Borax laundry detergent into your water. 

You'd think that people would remember what happened during the tide pod challenge, where pressure to eat the admittedly very edible-looking detergent packs resulted in an idiotic trend, and at least eight deaths from ingesting the pods between 2012 and 2017 according to Consumer Reports.

But now it's not a social media trend, but rather the ideas of the alternative wellness influencer mandi at random. "I just put a pinch," she said. "It's great for hormones, balances testosterone, and estrogen." 

The video was struck with a community note on Twitter, and PubMed Central has an entire paragraph on the toxicity of Borax. But Mandi believes in "charging" water, to change it from "dead" to "living" water so it can start "healing your body." Somehow I don't think the science matters to her. 

Regrettably, Mandi claims she makes six figures from spouting "conspiracy theories" on TikTok. 

As @eSpresso7200 commented, "Darwin would be proud."