TikTok | @coltyy

TikTok User's 11-Day Food Coloring Experiment Turns More Than His Pee Blue

Updated September 8, 2021

As if teens on the internet hadn't already done themselves the huge disservice of the Tide Pod challenge and the cinnamon challenge, another social media influencer has gone viral for another bizarre personal challenge: attempting to turn his pee blue.

To achieve this dubious feat, TikTok user Colton Macaulay, who goes by @coltyy, figured he could just drink blue food coloring.

TikTok | @coltyy

And nothing but water and blue food coloring, right off the grocery store shelf, every day for five days.

"From what I've read online, by the fifth day the color of my pee will turn blue," he explained on day one.

The first effect wasn't so much the turning of his pee blue, but rather Colton's mouth.

TikTok | @coltyy

Although he avoided milk or juice during the experiment, he did apparently brush his teeth extra well to make sure that his teeth wouldn't permanently stain blue. Can you imagine?

But did it turn his pee blue? Yes, yes it did — and much, much more.

See, Colton didn't stop his experiment after five days.

TikTok | @coltyy

But it took until day eight for TikTok to think it was time to add a disclaimer to his vids, saying "the action in this video could result in serious injury," which Colton assured his viewers was not the case.

By that time, Colton had embraced the side effects, saying "Here's to turning into a Smurf in 2020," before chugging his daily dose.

TikTok | @coltyy

I suppose there are worse things to do, but this is definitely one of the weirdest.

It was a pretty thorough experiment, as social media experiments go.

TikTok | @coltyy

The teen went a full 11 days, consuming one container of blue food dye every day. By day ten, Colton claimed that not only did his pee bear the unmistakable blue hue, but so did his poop — and his skin, face, and hair.

So, how dangerous is drinking food coloring, actually?

TikTok | @coltyy

In small doses, it is indeed harmless. However, at least one paper thought it worth posting a warning to its readers about copycatting Colton, noting that in large doses, food coloring has been linked to ADHD and possibly carcinogenic effects.

Will that deter the copycats?

TikTok | @coltyy

It's hard to say for sure, but Colton did say in one video that his friend Logan would be trying the same experiment he did, only with green food coloring.

h/t: Derry Journal, The Takeout