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ARTICLE
ARTICLEOur sympathies are with the Tide social media manager.
As teens participate, pretend to participate, and talk about participating in the Tide Pod Challenge, the official Tide Twitter account has assumed the unofficial role of emergency services referral center.
In the past few days, @Tide has responded to five people claiming to have ingested Tide Pods. Tide Pods, of course, are not safe for consumption, despite looking extremely delicious and starring in a wildly popular meme.
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For the most part, the brand is recommending that people contact a medical professional or the Poison Control Center. In cases where the victim's mouth is burning, it has suggested drinking a glass of milk or water. (For the record, milk is not an antidote for poison, and it might not help at all -- always contact the Poison Control Center for advice in case of emergency.)
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It's possible that not all of these people have actually put Tide Pods in their mouths. In fact, a few of them seem like they're playing pranks ... which comes with the dark, dangerous terrain of meme-world, we assume.
Still, it's safe to assume that directing people to Poison Control was not what this social media manager signed up for. So, to make their life easier, we recommend simply not eating Tide Pods.
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If you believe you have been poisoned, please contact the American Association of Poison Control Centers hotline at (800) 222-1222.