ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, has been blowing up as a YouTube sensation in the past few years. It’s been done by celebrities, used in commercials, and has otherwise been a relaxing, sleep-inducing medium of expression for video creators.
When you search up “ASMR” on YouTube, a diverse array of content, from haircut roleplays to slime-making videos, appears. But as the trend has spread and evolved in the community, weirder and weirder ASMR videos have been emerging.
For those new to the concept, ASMR is defined as the tingling, euphoric feeling that can result from certain triggers. These triggers, depending on the person, reduce insomnia, relieve stress and induce calmness. Studies show that it can actually increase a person’s overall physiological health.
Some common triggers that ASMRtists use are whispering, tapping on different surfaces, brushing and eating. Many of these are included in elaborate roleplaying videos meant to engage the watcher by creating a storyline of some sort.
Sometimes, though, the things that send tingles down people’s spines can be very strange, or just downright hilarious. Here are seven of the weirdest (and funniest) ASMR videos, ranked.
7. Kim Kardashian West Interviews YOU (to be Kylie’s new BFF)
Ever wonder what happened in the Kardashian clan after the Jordyn Woods cheating scandal? Now you can be a part of it yourself by becoming Kylie’s replacement best friend. But only if Kim Kardashian West herself approves of you first.
KKW, after demanding a mani-pedi from her personal assistant, explains the scandal and how she’s taken it upon herself to interview possible candidates for the position of Kylie’s new gal pal. Because, of course, Kylie needs someone to hold her phone for her during promo shoots, and those makeup swatches don’t swatch themselves.
In preparation for the contract you will be signing, Kim asks you various questions and examines your face for possible plastic surgery procedures. For the last part of her interview, in order to ensure your loyalty, she shows you pictures of all the Kardashian sisters’ men, asking you “Would you kiss him?” just so you won’t pull a Jordyn on them again.
6. Edible Glue and Colored Paper Eating Sounds
This next weird video is something called a mukbang, a video style originally from Korea, where the host eats while interacting with their audience. However, it isn’t a normal food that the host, JaeYeol ASMR, is eating; it’s actually edible glue and construction paper.
If you ever wanted to eat glue sticks and paper back in kindergarten, this is the video for you. JaeYeol clarifies in the beginning of the video that the “glue” is actually milk, agar powder and sugar mixed together, a sweet concoction that looks (and sticks) like glue. He also reminds his audience to never consume actual glue. That probably was a smart move.
5. Nun Takes Care of You in the 1300s (You Have The Plague)
Half of the population in Europe is currently dying of the bubonic plague, and this sassy nun is coming to help you with the power of rosaries, holy water and praying to God. If you don’t get an answer, Angelica says, that just means God’s inbox is full from all of the other plague sufferers.
She then relaxes you by blessing you with gentle hand movements and splashing of holy water, and her snarky remarks about your imminent death make the whole experience funnier than many comedy shows.
4. Massaging and Piercing Your Slime Brain
Isn’t the sensation of your brain being prodded and squeezed so relaxing? User ASMR PPOMO takes various types of slime and places them between the “ears” of her specialized microphone to make the listeners feel like the slime is their brain. She then massages it, plays with it and pokes holes in it with various tools.
The description says that the sounds are for “sleep, relaxing, studying and concentration.” The video has almost 7 million views, so maybe it does have all of those effects (if you don’t think about the grossness of it all).
3. I Decided to Eat My Gucci Shoes
If the shoe fits … eat it? YouTube user Life with MaK unboxes and eats a Gucci shoe, which turns out to be made out of sugar and completely edible. Keep in mind that she doesn’t tell you this until she takes a couple bites out of the heel and says, “It tastes like leather.”
The shoe comes in beautiful Gucci packaging, which MaK unwraps to get her designer snack. This video has a whopping 3.76 million views, and the fact that anyone woke up one day and thought, “I’m gonna buy an edible Gucci shoe and eat it for millions of people,” makes it the third-weirdest ASMR video on this list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wi9Ils2OA0
2. Five Minutes of Ron saying “Fookin’ Hell, Harry”
This one is for die-hard Potter fans. The user TingleCactus has only two videos on his channel: this one, and “Demon Baby ASMR (Watch and I Might Spare You),” which almost made it onto this list as well.
While this video has the least number of views here, it might be the most underrated in terms of weirdness. Images of Ron Weasley float about the black screen while “Fookin’ hell, Harry” is whispered continuously from ear to ear, as the listener finally begins to understand what Harry’s real nightmares are made of.
1. The Relaxation of Ethan Pineapple
After the first watch, I really had no words to describe this one. After a little attempted research into the context of this story, it turned out that there really is no “context” and the beauty of this video is that it is completely up to the viewer’s interpretation.
However, there is a helpful description under the video: A sea monster-looking-thing is helping Mr. Pineapple recover from his dark state of depression ever since his wife disappeared. Mr. Pineapple, unfortunately, doesn’t make it through the procedure because the sea monster thing ends up taking out some of his flesh and eating it.
Some commenters on this video were concerned as to what people would think if they looked in this guy’s window. Others just paid their respects to Ethan the Pineapple.
