A restaurant-goer shows soy sauce being served in a dropper bottle in a viral video—and says that the condiment was "gentrified."

In a TikTok posted on Monday, Alex Mutammara (@mutammara) shows soy sauce being served in a small dropper bottle at a restaurant he was dining at. Soy sauce is usually served in the bottle it was purchased in, a small dish, or a traditional soy sauce dispenser.

"They gentrified soy sauce y'all," Mutammara wrote in the video's overlay text. In the video's caption, he wrote that he didn't understand why the sauce was being served in a dropper bottle.

On Wednesday, Mutammara's video had over a million views on TikTok.

@mutammara Like PLEASE just help me understand #soysauce #nyc #foodie ♬ Spongebob Closing Theme Song Music - Ocean Floor Orchestra

In a follow up video, Mutammara says that the soy sauce dropper was served at Rule of Thirds, a Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn, NY.

Mutammara told the Daily Dot that he and his friends "got a kick out of" the soy sauce dropper.

"It’s definitely something none of us had ever seen before," he said in an email.

Commenters on his initial video added to Mutammara's joke that the soy sauce had been gentrified.

"Soy sauce?" a commenter wrote. "Ohh u mean the fermented organic soybean extract."

"They gave u the soy in The Ordinary salicylic acid 2%," another wrote. The Ordinary, a skincare company, packages many of its products in similar dropper bottles.

Others admitted they actually thought dispensing soy sauce via a dropper was beneficial.

"I like this," a commenter wrote. "It’s easier to control how much soy sauce comes out."

"We can all admit this is honestly a good idea," a commenter said. "Aince it's so hard to pour a reasonable amount of soy sauce from the Kikkoman dispensers." Kikkoman is a popular brand of soy sauce.

"Gentrification pops off sometimes," another commenter shared. "And this is one of those times."

All that said, one commenter reminded viewers that the way soy sauce bottles are made in Asia allows for users to control how much soy sauce is dispensed: These bottles have two holes, one on either end of the cap, and diners can cover one of the holes to dispense less soy sauce.

As for Mutammara himself, he told the Daily Dot that he prefers to use a traditional soy sauce bottle.

The Daily Dot has reached out Rule of Thirds via email.

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A woman shows a vintage store selling a Shein dress for $129 in a viral video. Dresses from Shein usually cost less than $20.

In a TikTok posted over the weekend, Francesca Miller-Hard shows a tag from Melbourne, Australia based vintage shop Inferno Vintage that lists a "little black dress" for $129. Miller-Hard then shows that the dress is from Shein, a Chinese fast fashion company known for its cheap clothing.

"I was silently screaming in the changing room," Miller-Hard wrote in a comment on her video.

On Wednesday, Miller-Hard's video had over 175,000 views on TikTok.

@iburntmyburrito

little black dress 😍😍😍

♬ real - Dead account

Many commenters on Miller-Hard's video were confused as to why a simple black dress from Shein, which currently retails between $10 and $20 on the site, was priced at $129—and said that other vintage stores had also marked up cheap items.

"NO WAY," a commenter said.

"The vintage store at my mall took the cactus shirts from Target, cut them into crop tops," a commenter wrote," "And put a $45 tag on them."

"The time I saw a Kmart shirt for $35," another commenter said.

Though the word vintage is used by many retailers, clothing is only considered vintage if it was produced over 40 years ago. Items are considered "retro" if they were made over 20 years ago. Shein, however, was founded in 2008.

Other commenters posited that many vintage resellers don't research or fully inspect the clothes they sell.

"i once went to this vintage only thrift store in austin thinking they were authentic and i bought aliexpress shoes without realizing," one user shared.

"Praying on the downfall of vintage shops they never do research," a commenter wrote. "And put things on shelves for abhorrent prices."

"U know they know nothing about vintage too," another said. "Cause how can U not feel the polyester..." Polyester is a synthetic fabric that many Shein products are made out of.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Miller-Hard, and the vintage resellers that were involved with the retail of the item.

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In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Tuesdays our IRL Reporter Tricia Crimmins breaks down the trends on the popular app that will make you cringe in her “Problematic on TikTok” column.  If you want to read columns like this before everyone else, subscribe to web_crawlr to get your daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.

As Stephen A. Smith once said, we have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok and flat out deceived by TikTok singers.

Apparently, they’re tuning their acoustic videos to make themselves sound better. You know, those videos where TikTokers are singing in multipart harmonies while in a garage or a bathroom or their kitchen because those rooms have better acoustics? Well, those stripped-down versions of songs might not sound as good live as they do when they’re posted online.

In a video posted on November 3, singer Glenn Devron sings a stunning rendition of Sia’s “Elastic Heart” that he “autotuned the shit out of,” and shows viewers how singers perfectly tune their videos before the internet hears them.

Devron says anyone can use tuning software to ensure that all the notes they sang are perfectly in tune with the real note—it’s a lot of dragging and dropping—and then edit the video and the tuned audio to match in a video editing software. 

“Enjoy your new skill duping everybody on TikTok into thinking you are a perfect singer,” Devron says. “When in reality, you’re just a fuckin’ liar.”

In his video’s caption, he says that the dishonesty of many well-known TikTok singers is “wild,” and in a follow up TikTok, he sings clearly off-key and tunes it. 

Why it matters

I’ll admit, I didn’t know that TikTok singers were auto-tuning their singing videos and was truly surprised by Devron’s video. 

But it’s similar to using TikTok filters, which I’ve written about a bunch in this column. The big difference is, however, that TikTok filters identify themselves on videos, and TikTok singers aren’t disclosing that they are tuning their voices. 

And that secrecy has an effect on viewers: Just like how Photoshop and filters have created unattainable expectations of beauty, tuning software is making people self-conscious about their singing voices. 

Case in point, a commenter on Devron’s video said that his content about tuning software has made them “feel so much better” about themselves as a singer, and that they’re “so tired of feeling insecure” about their voice.

It’s also worth noting that the impulse to autotune or tune one’s TikTok video comes from all the autotuning and tuning of recorded music that you hear on the radio or on streaming services. If those songs weren’t tuned, maybe TikTok singers wouldn’t want to hide their raw audios, either. 

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Beyoncé fans are posting photos and videos of New York City subway cars decorated for the singer's Renaissance concert film.

In TikToks and tweets posted today, New Yorkers are showing the Renaissance promotional materials that are now in (and on) some NYC subway cars. A TikTok from @rommybby shows a train with the word "RENAISSANCE" written in metallic silver lettering on a black background on it pulling into a station, and views of the Beyoncé ads inside the train car. In the ads, Beyoncé is covered in silver and lying next to "RENAISSANCE" written in the same typeface seen on the outside of the train car.

"I literally gasped," @rommybby wrote in the video's caption. On Tuesday, their TikTok had almost 200,000 views on TikTok.

@rommybby oh i literally GASPED #renaissance #beyonce #subway ♬ Kevin JZP slaying - Valentina

Commenters on @rommybby's video made jokes about Beyoncé's choice to advertise her upcoming film on NYC subways.

"It's the Break My Soul Train," one commenter wrote, referencing the singer's lead single from the album, as well as popular '70s music show 'Soul Train.'

"This is what I wanna see," another wrote, referencing a sample used in Beyoncé's song "Thique."

Another TikTok, this time from @luccasvevo, shows another Beyoncé ad inside the train car: The star is wearing a silver helmet and headgear, posing in front of a blue background. The TikTok also shows that the ads take up all available ad space inside the train car.

@luccasvevo WELCOME TO THE NYC RENAISSANCE SUBWAY TRAIN — RENA RENA RENA RENA RENA RENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #renaissance #renaissancethefilm #beyonce #nyc ♬ original sound - Lucas Barbosa

Other views of the train, including a video of it passing by a subway station, and photos of the outside and inside of the train car have been posted on X as well.

Beyoncé's film, which premieres on December 1, will feature footage from when she toured internationally and performed the album. The tour grossed almost $580 million dollars, and fans have speculated that she will soon announce a second leg of the tour.

The Daily Dot reached out to Beyoncé's public relations team and the NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority via email.

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Actress Melissa Barrera has reportedly been fired from her role in Scream VII after posting on social media in support of Palestine.

According to One Take News, the actress was "quietly let go" from the movie, which also stars Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, and Jasmine Savoy Brown, as a result of "controversial statements amid the Israel-Palestine crisis." Barrera played Sam Carpenter in Scream VI, which premiered this year.

Her comments, which appeared on her Instagram story, were screenshotted and posted on Reddit.

"I too come from a colonized country," Barrera wrote, adding a Mexican flag. "Palestine WILL be free."

Barrera also has the watermelon emoji in her Instagram bio, a symbol which signifies support for Palestine.

Barrera has also shared multiple reels and Instagram posts on her Instagram story indicating her support of Palestine, calling for a ceasefire, and expressing solidarity with U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman who was censured in the House of Representatives earlier this month after criticizing the Israeli government.

Barrera isn't the only celebrity to have reportedly lost a professional opportunity after expressing solidarity with Palestine amid Israel's attacks on Gaza: The Daily Mail reported that actress Susan Sarandon, who has been regularly attending and speaking at pro-Palestine protests, was dropped by her agent, United Talent Agency, after saying that Americans scared to be Jewish amid the war are "getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in America."

The Daily Dot has reached out to representatives for Barrera and Sarandon via phone.

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Last week, a TikTok baker went mega-viral after she posted a video of her boyfriend gifting her containers of egg whites separated from the yolks.

She had mentioned off-handedly a few days prior that she had a difficult time separating the egg whites due to her long nails, so his creative gesture showed that not only was he listening to her, but he wanted to make her life easier.

The video, many viewers said, was a prime example of the "orange peel theory."

What is the orange peel theory?

The orange peel theory posits that if your partner peels your orange for you without you having to ask, they truly love and care for you. In general, the concept focuses on the little things someone does to brighten their partner's day or make their life more convenient—just because they can.

TikToker @NeaNotMia says that the theory is also about someone else doing a task that you're completely capable of doing but doing it for you because they love you.

Another example of the orange peel theory may be a loved one granting your wish to get a glass of water for you just because they're already up.

"It might not literally be about peeling the orange," @NeaNotMia says in her video. "They might be asking you for [a] small favor to see your reaction, to see if later they can ask you for a bigger favor. And how are you going to make them feel when they ask you to do that for them?"

Orange peel theory in action

Over the last week, TikTokers have shown the ways in which the theory plays out in their lives. One woman says that she feels cared for when her boyfriend opens doors for her, and another woman says that her boyfriend washes her hair to show his love for her.

The orange peel theory can be present in other types of relationships, not just romantic ones.

A mom posted on TikTok saying that whenever her kids (who can walk) ask to be carried up the stairs, she sees it as an opportunity to have a moment of connection with them. A teacher shared that he's happy to tie his students' shoes for them, describing it as "a beautiful little act of love and kindness."

The theory may have already been the cause of one breakup: One redditor posted on the site last week that seeing a TikTok about the theory made her realize that she does more for her boyfriend than he does for her and that this dynamic signifies a larger imbalance causing a rift between them.

"Our relationship is not going to end because of my towel not being warm or my hair not being up," the redditor wrote. "But because I realize that I am just settling for a lazy man who doesn’t take me out, doesn’t help out with his baby and has no motivations in life except to live at his parents house, play video games and drink."

Case in point, the orange peel theory can be applied to help people appreciate their relationships by highlighting the little moments of care and intimacy. It can also signal to them that a relationship is incompatible, and it might be time to move on.

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Before Elmo’s iconic delivery of the phrase “balsamic vinegar” on The Tonight Show—before his feud with Rocco rocked the internet and before we all realized he had a New York accent—there was the Elmo on fire meme.

Elmo is, of course, one of the main muppet characters on the children’s show Sesame Street. Read on to learn about the Elmo meme that took the internet by (fire) storm.

The meme’s origins

Also known as “Hellmo” or “Elmo Rise,” the Elmo on fire meme originated from an Elmo-themed birthday cake. For a child’s first birthday, a cake with a strange, possessed-looking Elmo was baked—and then at some point in 2012, posted on CakeWrecks.com. 

Two years later, an image of Elmo on the cake was superimposed onto a GIF of flames and captioned “All hail Hellmo, our dark lord of the internet,” according to the meme database Know Your Meme. 

Popularity

Hellmo is included on most standard GIF keyboard extensions, and the internet has sung its praises for years. HuffPost even deemed it “The Single Best GIF For Conveying Messy Workplace Emotions.”

The GIF can really convey anything you want: Extreme happiness, extreme anger, chaos, feeling overwhelmed, or even just your reaction to the inevitable passage of time.

The meme has also been recreated and posted in different formats online: One TikToker drew the meme digitally, another made it in Fortnite, one braided it into a friendship bracelet, and many have set actual Elmo dolls on fire.

Spotting Elmo on fire IRL

Hellmo has also found its way offline. You can purchase Elmo on fire T-shirts, figurines, pins, and mugs. It’s even been carved into pumpkins. 

Not only has it migrated offline, but it’s also been recreated IRL. In 2020, a protester dressed up as Elmo attended a Black Lives Matter protest in Philadelphia and stood in front of trash cans that had been set ablaze, bringing the meme to life.

Elmo also apparently popped up in Philadelphia during a large trash fire in 2018: Someone dressed as the character is seen dancing in a drumline near the fire in multiple TikToks. 

Other Elmo Memes

Though the Elmo on fire meme dominates the Elmo meme space, other memes that feature the iconic character have gained traction, as well. One is Elmo sitting on the toilet and dancing from an episode of Sesame Street during which he is potty-trained by his father. 

Others show Elmo conveying different types of emotion, like Elmo happy dancing, shrugging, and screaming in exasperation.

Tickle Me Elmo, an Elmo toy that was originally created in 1996 by Tyco Toys, also has an internet presence of its own. The lore of the toy is that it’s possessed, as apparently malfunctioning versions of the dolls have threatened children.

The internet responded with viral videos of Elmo being beaten and crashing through a door in “rage mode.”

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OnlyFans content creators are joking that Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) subscribed to their accounts on the platform after a U.S. House Ethics Committee report found that Santos used campaign funds to buy OnlyFans subscriptions.

Ryan St. Michael, an OnlyFans creator, went viral on TikTok after joking Santos subscribed to his OnlyFans account.

"Introducing who George Santos subscribed to," St. Michael said in his TikTok last week. In his video's caption, he said he's "ready to testify in Congress."

St. Michael has almost 1,000 subscribers on OnlyFans, and his content has garnered over 70,000 likes on the platform. On Monday, St. Michael's video had almost 640,000 views on TikTok.

@ryanstmichael Fully ready to testify to Congress. 🗣️ #georgesantos #contentcreator #scandal #ethicsinvestigation #congress #campaignfinance #taylorswift ♬ Anti-Hero - Taylor Swift

In a statement to the Daily Dot, St. Michael confirmed that his video is "100% comedy" and that he takes the privacy of his subscribers very seriously—as does OnlyFans, which doesn't show creators the names of their subscribers.

"It's possible for someone to self-disclose their true self within the platform," St. Michael told the Daily Dot. "But I pride myself in discretion and I obviously do not ever reveal subscriber identity."

An OnlyFans creator and Twitch streamer who goes by Soogs also joked that Santos had subscribed to her OnlyFans account, tweeting a photo that shows an OnlyFans subscriber named "George Santos [Americna flag emoji]" as her "top spender" on the platform.

The New York Post reported that OnlyFans creator Leila Lewis tweeted that Santos had subscribed to her account and that she had interacted with him individually on the platform.

The Ethics Committee report also found that the Long Island representative used campaign funds for Botox; purchases at Hermes, Sephora, and Ferragamo; trips to Atlantic City; and to pay his own rent.

In response to the report, Santos tweeted that the report was "biased" and an attempt to "smear" him and his legal team.

"It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk," Santos posted on X. "Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves."

Santos also revealed he won't be seeking re-election—but will "continue to maintain [his] commitment to [his] conservative values in my remaining time in Congress."

As for Santos' public comments about OnlyFans, he said on Fox Business in March that he "just discovered" OnlyFans three weeks before the interview. The Ethics Report shows that Santos had subscribed to creators on the site in the fall of 2022.

In a follow-up video, St. Michael joked that the "Republican donor money that got sent [Santos'] way went to support some seriously progressive, queer-affirming causes."

"The news did say that you're not seeking re-election," St. Michael said in his TikTok. "You think you might re-subscribe after your term?"

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A baker captured her boyfriend gifting her Tupperwares of egg whites that he had separated from the yolks after she complained about the task of doing so.

In a TikTok posted on Monday, Jenna (@jennaskates), who regularly posts content about baking, shows herself opening a surprise from her boyfriend. She says she expects it to be a treat they can enjoy together, but discovers that it is two containers of egg whites that her boyfriend assembled at his job in a kitchen. Jenna says that she had recently told him that her long nails make separating the egg whites from the yolks difficult.

"And this man took time to pre-separate the egg whites from the yolks for me," Jenna wrote in her video's overlay text. "He saw me! Never thought egg white would make me cry."

In the video, Jenna is seen hugging and kissing her boyfriend, smiling through tears of happiness. She says he is her "biggest supporter."

On Thursday, Jenna's video had over 12 million views on TikTok.

@jennaskates heart wrenching. But in a good way. #fypシ #baking #cakes ♬ Think Of Me Once In A While, Take Care - Take Care

One commenter on Jenna's video said that her boyfriend's kind gesture reminded them of the "orange peel theory," or the idea that although an individual can peel their own orange, someone that loves them might do it for them as an act of care. The hashtag #OrangePeelTheory has over 12 million views on TikTok, and one viewer of Jenna's video posted a TikTok saying that the video and others about the orange peel theory made her cry.

Jenna posted in another TikTok that commenters calling her boyfriend's act of service an example of the orange peel theory really touched her.

"The orange theory hits hard for the little Korean girl in me," Jenna wrote in her TikTok.

Other commenters on her viral video discussed the significance of her boyfriend's egg whites gift as well.

"To be loved is to be seen," a commenter wrote.

"HE LISTENED, not just heard. You weren't ignored," another said. "I'd be bawling....it's so rare to be seen."

"Thank u for reminding me this love exists," a commenter said.

The Daily Dot reached out to Jenna via TikTok comment.

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A single mom posted videos on TikTok in an attempt to connect with her child's biological father—but she was trolled instead, as many viewers left comments poking fun at her plight.

In a TikTok slideshow posted on November 6, Brooke McGuire (@brookemcguire43) says that she got pregnant last year by a man she met on Bumble named Ceru. She describes him—dark haired, tattooed, "has one dimple"—and says they haven't had any contact since they met.

"I'm searching for him to let him know that he has a daughter," McGuire wrote on one of the images' overlay text. "Please like, share, or comment so that he or someone who knows of him will see this."

McGuire's slideshow had almost 10 million views on Thursday, and the other five videos she has posted about the situation all have over 350,000 views.

But increased visibility online always brings the opportunity for trolling. In addition to comments suggesting McGuire do DNA testing and other single mothers identifying with McGuire's situation, some viewers pretended that they knew Ceru, the purported father of McGuire's child.

"That's my friend," one commenter wrote. "His name is Ceru Later."

"You almost described my boy Ceru to a tee," another said. "But he got two dimples though sorry."

"Im pregnant with Ceru baby too," a commenter added.

Others pretended that they knew Ceru and that he was dead.

"My boy Ceru left behind a beautiful angel," a commenter wrote. "He's watching from above."

"You will be forever missed Ceru," another wrote.

"Man.. does time fly.." a commenter said. "2 months now without my boy Ceru."

In a follow up video, McGuire gave some context about why she wasn't able to contact Ceru and had no choice but to reach out to him publicly via TikTok. She says she initially met Ceru in order to see if they would be good roommates, and didn't think she'd get pregnant after having sex with him—and, she blocked his number and Snapchat account, and deleted her Bumble account.

"I understand that some people may feel strongly about my decisions and I will be the first to admit that they were irresponsible," McGuire wrote in her video. "However I have the honor of being this angels mother and will only do my very best."

The Daily Dot has reached out to McGuire via TikTok comment.

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