One Chip Challenge
Paqui's infamous coffin-boxed chip — so spicy it put people in hospitals and was pulled from shelves following a teenager's death in 2023.
Overview
Became one of the most discussed viral food challenges of the decade — raising urgent questions about content creator responsibility, food safety regulations, and the gamification of danger in social media culture. The challenge's tragic end led Paqui to withdraw the product entirely.
Cultural scores
Editorial estimates of cultural weight — Current Popularity tracks how much people are posting about this now, not historical fame.
Current Popularity = how actively people are posting about this today. Influence = lasting footprint. Cringe = online reception. Brainrot = absurdist energy. How scoring works
Timeline
1
Paqui's One Chip Challenge featured a single chip coated in Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers, sold in a coffin-shaped box
2
Participants filmed themselves eating the chip and competing to see how long they could last without drinking anything
3
Videos of participants in visible distress spread across TikTok and YouTube as both entertainment and cautionary content
4
In September 2023, 14-year-old Harris Wolobah became ill at school after eating the chip and later died — the medical examiner noted the chip as a contributing factor
5
Paqui voluntarily pulled the product from store shelves nationwide following the tragedy
Media
One Chip Challenge product on a 7-Eleven shelf during the challenge's retail peak.
Official Hot Ones video documenting the Paqui One Chip Challenge format.
Related entries
Culturally linked — not random recommendations.
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References
Sources behind this entry. Prefer primary reporting and established culture archives over rumor.
- One Chip Challenge — Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org