I’m Mesmerised By Glass Bottles Rolling Down Stairs

I learn so much about humans from seeing what’s trending on TikTok.

The Wes Anderson trend taught us about our tendency to forget about context, the rise of sludge content speaks to our appetite for the absurd, and the Beige Flag trend taught us that we love calling things trends, even when it doesn’t make sense. 

So what is it about the TikToks of bottles careening slowly down flights of stairs that I find so captivating? 

Are we so deprived of joy in our lives that we seek joy in bottles rolling down stairs trying to decide whether they will survive or perish? Yes, it would appear so. 

Once again, the internet is proving to me that I’m not alone in my fascination with these TikToks. They regularly pull millions of views and the TikToker who seems to have started the trend, @rachapotes, boasts 2.3 million followers. 

Obviously, the ASMR element is a big part of why these videos are so satisfying. I for one love the sound of glass bottles tumbling along marble or concrete stairs. We’re not seeing carpeted stairs for a reason, you guys! Some TikTokers are even putting things like marbles in the bottles for a bit more clackety clack. 

Please don't text me l'm watching videos of glass bottles rolling down the stairs

— Kalu (@itskalu__) July 14, 2023

But it’s not just about the sounds. Personally, I love the feeling of tension of seeing a glass bottle perched ominously at the top of a flight of stairs, followed by the rush of seeing it meet its devastating fate. There’s something thrilling about the moment that it shatters. Maybe all of that destruction satisfies death drive — they tickle the intrusive thoughts in our brains that tell us to break things. RIP Freud, you would’ve loved TikTok. 

Also, it’s important to say that the bottles don’t always break, and I find that very hopeful. These fearless bottles remind me that no matter how often I feel like a tiny glass bottle tumbling down the flight of stairs that is life, I too can persevere and get out in one piece. 

Anyway, whenever these videos make their way onto my FYP, I am seated and ready to be transfixed. I enter a new dimension where time and space doesn’t exist, just glass bottles and stairs. No think, just smash. (Please grow up, I am talking about the bottles). 

By the way, if you’re after an holy crossover of TikTok trends, please enjoy seeing Ayamé, known for her staircase bottle reaction videos, respond to Jake Shane as he he pretends to be a bottle that is about to be pushed down the stairs. 

These videos are the smooth brain content I like to see and I demand more of them. Just don’t do try them at home, because getting cut by glass is not a fun experience. Or so I hear.