About

Corn Drill Challenge is a dare game that involves eating an entire corn on the cob as quickly as possible by sticking it on the end of a power drill and spinning it across one's teeth. While videos of people attempting the challenge have been circulating on YouTube since as early as 2012, it received mass exposure after a Chinese woman's failed attempt went viral in May 2016.

Origin

On November 29th, 2012, YouTuber Vinnie Mac uploaded a video titled "How to Ear Corn in 10 Seconds," featuring footage of a young man eating a corn on the cob off a spinning power drill (shown below).

Spread

On June 11th, 2015, the Good Mythical Morning YouTube channel uploaded a video titled "Corn on the Drill Contest," in which hosts Rhett & Link attempt to eat corn spinning on power drills (shown below, left). Within one year, the video gained over 2.8 million views and 5,600 comments. On September 29th, 2015, YouTuber merrelltwins uploaded a video of themselves eating corn on the cob from a power drill, garnering upwards of 1.2 million view and 2,800 comments in wight months (shown below, right).

On May 3rd, 2016, the People's Daily, China YouTube channel uploaded a clip of food blogger Eater Yang eating corn spinning on a drill (shown below, left). On May 4th, a video of the same man eating a corn on the cob covered in sriracha off a power drill was posted to /r/gifs.^[1] Within four days, the post gathered upwards of 9,000 votes (78% upvoted) and 1,500 comments.

Hair FAIL Video

On May 7th, YouTuber Tyson Coughlan uploaded footage of a Chinese woman accidentally ripping out a patch of hair while eating corn off a drill (shown below, left). That day, a GIF of the video was submitted to the /r/instant_regret^[2]subreddit, where it gained over 6,800 votes (84% upvoted) and 540 comments in 48 hours. On May 8th, Tyson Couglan uploaded a video of the woman receiving treatment on her bald spot (shown below, right).

Jason Derulo Video

On May 19th, 2020, pop singer Jason Derulo attempted the challenge on TikTok, appearing to chip his teeth in the process. The video gained over 2.6 million likes.

However, some were not convinced Derulo had actually lost his teeth. In a video he posted the following day, Derulo's teeth were unchipped.^[4] On May 5th, 2020 Derulo posted a video where he appeared to lose one of his teeth, but it was a prank.^[3] It is unclear if the corn video was a similar prank or Derulo had actually chipped his teeth.

Search Interest

External References