As far as years go, 2020 set a benchmark for unprecedented times in the modern era. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a complete standstill, with global lockdowns enforced across the globe to help try and curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Zoom somehow overtook Skype as the video calling platform of choice, despite the fact absolutely no one had ever heard of it and everyone already used Skype (seriously, how did they drop the ball on that one?). Rudy Giuliani did a press conference outside what he thought was going to be a Four Seasons hotel but was actually a landscaping company next to an x-rated store. Then a few days later his hair started to melt. And (takes breath), as if all that wasn't enough, gigantic insects started swimming out of everyone's strawberries. The trend started when a TikTok user shared a video of her demonstrating a technique for removing tiny bugs from store-bought strawberries. In the video, she removes an unopened pack of the fruit from her fridge, places them in saltwater for a few minutes, and then zooms in on the tiny bugs. "Apparently if you wash your strawberries in water and salt, all the bugs will come out," TikTok user <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@selesteradcliffe?">Seleste Radcliffe</a> said in a video showing her trying the method, which has been liked more than 83,000 times. [[tiktokwidget||https://www.tiktok.com/@edithtepasas/video/6829491037422013702]] "And little critters will come out. Look at that, look at that!" Seleste continued, as she zoomed in on a bug wriggling free from its former fruity home and putting everyone off strawberries for life. Now, plenty of people understandably believed this was all staged - but no. It turns out that after Seleste's video went viral on TikTok, people all over social media started to share their own experiences trying the #strawberrieswithbugs challenge. And. There. Were. Loads. After a quick search on social media, it was easy to discover so many videos of people dumping their strawberries in salt water, and then finding tiny bugs inside them. Take a look below: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/vickie19761/status/1263211341071998981]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/GabeFarrell/status/1263913097212747776]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/elizabethdagger/status/1263647629684113409]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/elizabethdagger/status/1263678407977639940]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/taerysus/status/1263243638429175809]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/trviashadow/status/1261502011826229253]] And, as you can imagine, people were so grossed out by what they saw that they vowed never to eat strawberries ever again. One Twitter user with the handle @jessicastea_ wrote: "This is actually gross i feel sick omg never eating a strawberry again". [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/jessicastea_/status/1263112603318001664]] Another user with the handle @Aloha__cmb typed: "Wtf I'm so sad strawberries are my favorite fruit but after this video I'm never eating one again." And a third, @suns3tsal, shared a video and said: "I’m actually never eating another strawberry again." Now, according to the <a href="https://www.cloudmountainfarmcenter.org/fruit-fly-maggots-in-berries/">Cloud Mountain Farm Center</a>, the tiny worms are "most likely the larvae of Spotted Wing Drosophila, a non-native fruit fly that lays its eggs", and can be found in many different fruits. And if you're worried about eating them - don't be. The worms are not harmful if ingested, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actually allows foods to have a certain amount of bugs in them. "It is economically impractical to grow, harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects," the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredients-additives-gras-packaging-guidance-documents-regulatory-information/food-defect-levels-handbook">FDA explains on its website</a>, with defects referring to whole insects and larvae. What is a little gross is that it also allows for rodent hairs and mold. So there's that. <h6>Featured Image Credit: Karol Serewis/Getty</h6>

People are vowing never to eat strawberries again after TikTok video shows hidden bugs

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