About

Elmo "Paper Towel Roll" or Oatmeal Container, A Wooden Bowl refers to a scene from a 2020 Sesame Street episode where Elmo and Rosita sing a song about problem-solving where Elmo sings "a paper towel roll" in a notably funny, overly passionate cadence, somewhat losing the voice of the character. The clip was reposted to TikTok in late 2021 and its original sound inspired a lip-dub trend that month.

Origin

On November 26th, 2020, season 51 episode three of Sesame Street aired on PBS.^[1] In one scene, actress Hailee Steinfeld sings a song titled "I Wonder, What If, Let's Try," with Elmo and Rosita about problem-solving. At one point Elmo and Rosita sing, "An oatmeal container, a wooden bowl, a plastic water bottle and a paper towel roll" (shown below).

On June 10th, 2021, Redditor Cyclosarin88 posted to /r/cringe^[2] "The way Elmo says 'Paper Towel Roll' at 1:35 makes me die inside." This is one of the earliest references to the way Elmo says "paper towel roll" sounding funny, as it sounds like he breaks his character's usual vocal cadence when singing it. On December 14th, TikToker^[3] @cj_vogt posted the clip making the same discovery, captioned "The way Elmo says 'paper towel roll' has me dying.. I can't stop watching," gaining over 2.9 million views in six days (shown below).

Spread

The TikTok's original sound became popular over the course of December in lip dub skits, inspiring over 28,000 uses by December 20th. For example, on December 16th, TikToker @sherdelabear96 posted a skit using the sound to describe how they entertain their baby, gaining over 3.1 million views in four days (shown below, left). On December 17th, TikToker @satans.sugarbaby posted a version joking that it's the mentally unstable side of TikTok that's jamming to the song, gaining over 3.8 million views in three days (shown below, right).

On December 19th, TikToker @thatroachinurbed posted a video showing a number of upside-down pineapple decorations across the house, suggesting this is a symbol for swingers, gaining over 5.2 million views in a day (video since removed from TikTok).^[4]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References