Video shows gender reveal combined with ridiculous TikTok challenge - but is it real?

Gender reveals have been taken to new heights over the last couple of years.

Some have been sweet, while others have ended in tragedy.

But, combining the trend with a dangerous TikTok challenge surely takes the notion of the gender reveal party to a whole other level of ridiculousness.

The challenge in question is the milk crate challenge, which is as absurd it sounds. The challenge, which medics and the social media site have issued warnings over, involves people attempting to scale a wobbly pyramid made out of crates before it inevitably collapses.

In this particular instance, a video, which was shared to Twitter by NPR host Sam Sanders, shows a man climbing a wobbly mound of milk crates.

As he falls, blue dust comes out from the bowl he was carrying, which was of course the gender reveal (blue for boy, pink for girl).

The video then pans to the celebrating crowd.

People were baffled and amused at the clip:

But some raised questions over the video’s authenticity. It is not clear when or where the video was apparently filmed.

Many pointed out that a woman who appeared to be the expectant mother was in the video, but with a bump that made it appear that she was further along in the pregnancy than when most people find out their baby’s gender.

Others thought the video was staged and clearly poking fun at the ridiculousness of both gender reveals and the viral challenge.

Sanders himself also added: “The more I watch it, the more I think it’s fake/staged?”

One responded to his comment: “It’s gotta be. You find out sex in the 12 week range from a blood test or around 20 weeks from an ultrasound. If that belly is real, it’s a 35+ week belly. It doesn’t add up.”

While another added: “Definitely fake and definitely making fun of people who do RIDICULOUS gender reveals lol.”

One added: “The pregnancy is fake but that fall sure wasn’t.”

You won’t find the dangerous milk crate challenge on TikTok anymore. Anyone searching the hashtag #milkcratechallenge will be met with a message from TikTok reading: “This phrase may be associated with behaviour or content that violates our guidelines.”

Speaking to the Washington Post, New York-based orthopedic surgeon Shawn Anthony said: “It’s perhaps even worse than falling from a ladder. It’s very difficult to brace yourself from the falls I’ve seen in these videos. They’re putting their joints at an even higher risk for injury.”

Baltimore City Health Department also didn’t mince their words when they told people to check if there is a bed at your local hospital before attempting the challenge.

Whether or not the video is real or poking fun at the two trends, we think people should stick to the more conventional - and safer - way of announcing their baby’s sex.