If you’ve been seeing people talking about an immortal snail on your FYP, you haven’t missed something major in the pop culture zeitgeist. Rather, you need to catch up on pop psychology. This decade-old internet what-if scenario has supplied countless hours of shower thoughts and heady conversations.
Now, the TikTokers are having their turn with it, however aesthetic that may be. Here’s everything you need to know about snail theory, immortal snails, and how TikTokers are reacting to this ~deep~ subject matter.
Snail Theory Origin
The snail theory, the scenario involving the immortal snail, dates back to an August 2014 episode of the Rooster Teeth Podcast. Hosted by Burnie Burns, Gavin Free, Matt Hullum, and Gus Sorola, the four discussed a completely hypothetical scenario.
In the scenario, the person answering is given $10 million in exchange for having a snail follow them around for the rest of their life. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? However, there’s a catch—if that snail touches them, it will kill them.
Knowing this, someone asks a person what their strategy would be if faced with this predicament. Although it may seem silly at first, many people point to how the pressure of knowing something is following you would weigh on you over time. This and other factors make for some interesting takes on snail theory.
Snail Theory took social media by storm
Since proposing the scenario, the what-if has gone viral several times on social media. Everyone has thoughts on how to handle the situation, ranging from easy to execute to amazingly elaborate.
While it may seem like the easiest scenario is obvious, you’ll see TikTokers have taken it deeper. It seems that in the jump to TikTok, the snail became immortal, adding another layer of difficulty to the hypothetical.
Recently, snail theory has made the rounds on TikTok. As creators mused about how they’d handle the situation, #immortalsnail took off. The videos under the tag are paired with John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” It creates an eerie effect, though no one seems to understand why they have used that particular sound repeatedly.
Some TikTokers are even posting POVs as the snail itself, bringing a whole other dimension to the conversation.
Snail Theory TikTok Examples
It has quickly become an internet inside joke for a new generation. Some TikTokers are into how to best the snail, while others are busy sympathizing with it. Here’s a couple of examples:
@welstedillustrations Have you heard of the immortal snail theory? #immortalsnail #snailtok #theory #educationalpurposes ♬ aquatic ambience (slowed + reverb) – Scizzie & sped up sounds & Slowed + Reverb Sounds & Aesthetic Instrumentals
@intimshetrust #fyp #viral #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Oswaldo Cepeda
@peter.reads Snail theory or selective foreshadowing?🤨 #philosophy #psychology #learn #understanding ♬ original sound – Peter Reads
@immortal_snail_official There is simply no stopping me #snailtok #fyp #immortalsnail #halloween ♬ the snail is coming – not online
@queenbossslayer The snail theory at its finest #breakup #fyp #bf #relatable ♬ original sound – Oswaldo Cepeda
@gurkensalat101 Nice try tho #fyp #immortalsnail ♬ original sound – Jacob Stark
@klivesss It’s that time of year #immortalsnail #thesnail #snail #christmas ♬ original sound – Jacob Stark
@brogararts A Chase of an old foe #immortalsnail #snail #snailtiktok #snail #thinkmark #immortalsnailtiktok #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Omniman why did you make me do this 500 years – — AD Originalz —
@user5769825230304 Added the immortal snail to horror Minecraft #minecraft #gaming #minecrafthouse ♬ original sound – user5769825230304
@vhsmemes Bring back the snail trend 🙏🏻 #immortalsnail #fyp #fypシ #trend #viral ♬ original sound – Video Home System Memes
@goodbadrugby Jonny May’s immortal snail dilemma has Hask and Payno bamboozled! 🐌 🔎 Search GOOD BAD RUGBY on streaming platforms to watch the full episode now! S4 of GBR is sponsored by Continental Tyres #GBR4 #theimmortalsnail #rugby #thesnail ♬ original sound – The Good, The Bad & The Rugby
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