"Shiggy challenge" Here’s why so many people are jumping out of moving cars

BONN · Thousands of people are uploading videos that show how they dance to Drake's song "In My Feelings". It’s another one of those internet challenges, which may be fun but not exactly safe.

One finds lots of crazy challenges on the internet. Some make sense, like the “Ice Bucket Challenge” to benefit ALS patients. But many more are mindless - think "Tide Pod Challenge", in which a teenager sticks a detergent capsule in the mouth and bites into it.

But both of those challenges are long gone. Now it is the "Shiggy Challenge" that dominates social networks. The content is quickly explained: people dance in public squares and streets to a refrain from the song "In my Feelings" by the rapper Drake, who was born in Toronto, Canada to an American father and a Canadian mother. Because of the song, it’s called the "In my Feelings" challenge.

Even celebrities like Will Smith danced to the song, which earned Drake a number one position in the U.S. charts. But Smith didn’t exactly set a good example when he climbed up the bridge to get to his dancing place.

The dance always starts at the same lines: "Kiki, do you love me? Are you riding? Say you'll never leave me". Dancers first form a heart with their hands, then make a steering movement and finally a negative hand movement while stepping to the side.

Especially young people are dancing to the song, which is played constantly in the U.S. right now. At first glance the challenge looks like it’s just a fun thing to do, but a second look shows how dangerous it can be. A large number of those who do it, jump from a moving car and then dance on the street. And it’s not only that the fewest of them are looking for other cars on the road before they do it. Some of them wipe out on the street because the car was going too fast when they jumped out. One challenge-taker completely forgot about the traffic and put his bike right in the middle of the street.

Incidentally, the dance initiative originated with U.S. comedian Shiggy, who uploaded a video of himself on his Instagram account at the end of June, showing that dance. In the meantime, more videos of the "Shiggy Challenge" have been added to his profile - by celebrity friends.

The challenge still does not seem to have arrived in Germany, but experience shows that this is probably only a matter of time. With all the dancing fun, one hopes that nobody gets seriously injured.

(Orig. text: Laszlo Scheuch, Translation: ck)

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