Banana Sprite Challenge

About

The Banana Sprite Challenge, not to be confused with the Banana Challenge, is an internet challenge in which the participants must quickly eat two bananas and drink one liter of Sprite or a similarly-flavored carbonated soft drink without vomiting. The reaction of the banana's protein and Sprite's carbon dioxide causes reflux, making it hard not to vomit. People have been posting videos of themselves taking the challenge to YouTube since the late 2000s. The challenge had a resurgence in popularity on TikTok in 2022.

Origin

The reflux reaction that happens when you mix bananas and Sprite has been discussed online for decades, with the first known mention being a MadSci^[1] article from July 28th, 2000 discussing why this reaction happens. The article explains:

The banana supplies the protein and the cold soft drink adds a lot of carbon dioxide to your stomach. Your stomach is quite warm – much warmer than the soda – which means the carbon dioxide becomes less soluble at the higher temperature and gas bubbles are making a very fast escape from the liquid. The banana protein coats the CO2 bubbles and makes a very stable, expanding foam in your stomach. The creation of the foam means you can't just burp to get rid of the CO2 in your stomach, but it has to get out somehow because your stomach is only so large… so an escape is made using its only available exit.

On September 29th, 2008, YouTuber^[2] bjungling posted one of the earliest known videos of someone eating bananas then drinking Sprite, titled, "Banana Sprite Challenge- Bryce," garnering roughly 700 views in 14 years (shown below).

Spread

The trend spread across social media over the following years, becoming particularly popular throughout the 2010s. On July 22nd, 2014, YouTuber^[3] Deji posted a video doing the challenge, garnering over 4.5 million views in eight years (shown below, left). On November 7th, YouTuber^[4] skippy62able posted a video doing the trend, garnering over 7.3 million views in the same rough span of time. On August 5th, 2016, YouTuber^[5] Guava Juice posted a video doing the challenge, garnering over 9 million views in six years (shown below, right).

On November 13th, 2019, Badlands Chugs posted a video to YouTube^[6] doing the challenge, garnering over a million views in three years (shown below).

The trend became increasingly popular on TikTok throughout the 2020s. On December 28th, 2020, TikTokers^[7] @estrada.twins posted a video doing the challenge, garnering over 2.1 million views in two years. On May 6th, 2022, TikToker^[8] @white2115_girl posted a video doing the challenge with a friend, garnering over 1.9 million views in five months (shown below).

On October 21st, iShowSpeed did the challenge on stream. A clip was posted to the Live Speedy YouTube^[9] channel that day, garnering over 1.2 million views in three days (shown below). On October 22nd, HITC^[10] published an article about the trend where they suggest Speed's video increased interest in the trend. On October 24th, Dexerto^[11] reported on the trend.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References