♪ (punk rock music) ♪
(torch hissing)
- (gasping) This is the hot knife!
I love the hot knife!
- Oh, we're reacting to the 1,000 Degree Knife videos.
- Oh my, is this the fricking stupid 1,000 degree
blade things that I see on my Recommended all the time?
(marshmallow sizzling)
- (breathlessly) Oh my god.
(marshmallow sizzling)
- Okay, he's just super heating metal and cutting through a marshmallow.
- It's visually appealing, right, but I just don't get it.
- God, it's so satisfying.
- It's just so satisfying.
It just goes right through everything.
- First, it was the hydraulic press.
Now it's this.
- I don't understand why people watch it.
- I don't know why it's so great.
There's no one talking. There's nothing.
It's just pure hot knife.
- Is he just super heating a knife and cutting through things?
Is this all this is?
- Ooh, butter? (butter sizzling)
Ooh, we're getting crazy.
(butter sizzling loudly) - Why?!
I-- (laughing).
- Okay, I don't think butter is as exciting.
- Have you not seen butter melting on a pan before?
(butter sizzling)
- I was kind of hoping for an explosion or something.
- The sounds, personally, for me, is what makes it.
The sizzling is just really nice!
- Oh, I've seen this one.
Yes! Yes!
- Styro--why?!
(flummoxed)
I mean, that's kind of cool.
- Oh, it shrinks! (giggling) It shrinks.
- It looks like a marshmallow. It's so smooth.
- Hmm, not sure how I feel about this.
It's just a heated knife cutting through things.
- It's like ASMR, basically.
It's like-- I didn't know I liked ASMR, but this is-- I like it.
- This is the one I saw in my Recommended,
and I was like, "What the heck is this?"
And I clicked it and I was like, "All right, never again."
- Aww, poor ducky.
- I mean, there's no fun in that
because now it's not going to squeak.
(rubber duck hissing softly)
- I like watching the plastic ones.
It's so nice.
(gasping) I feel like those fumes, though, must be so terrible.
- (sighing) It just splits so nicely in the middle.
- This is so random. Like, I just don't understand.
- I don't know if I enjoy it or I'm just confused by it.
- You're expecting things to just melt completely,
but it always end up being sort of anti-climactic.
(torches hissing loudly)
- Oh.
Oh damn, this is like an ultra-hot knife.
- I don't think that's safe, so I probably shouldn't do that.
(pineapple sizzling, squealing)
- Ooh! Ooh, it's squeaking.
- (gasping) It's screaming.
The pineapple is screaming!
- Like, that's a good sound. That's a nice sound.
- Why do people find that entertaining?
I don't understand.
- Shoes?
- Come on, those are perfectly good pairs of shoes.
- (laughing) What?
It's on fire.
- Why the shoes?!
Like, you could donate these things to people.
- I just watched this, like, two days ago because I just went
on a whole binge watching hot knife videos.
♪ (dubstep music) ♪
- Why do people find this so entertaining?
- It's the toothpaste!
- Oh god. Is this going to explode?
- Is that going to even cut?
(gasping) (toothpaste sizzling)
- That's just a waste.
- It's like having a real life lightsaber.
- Oh, I've seen this one. (giggling)
(cap sizzling)
(bottle squealing) - What-- why, though?
You ruined a perfectly good Coke.
- I'm surprised it didn't explode on him.
(flames whoosh) (bubbles hiss)
- I don't like the ones where it catches fire.
(soda sizzles)
- Ew, it's just going to make a mess.
- You think something big is going to happen,
and then it's just a guy chopping into things with a hot knife.
- He should have done that with the Coke frozen
because then it would just split in half instead of just making a mess.
Now he's got to clean that up.
♪ (quirky music) ♪
- Aah! (ping pong ball popping)
The air just came out of it.
It's on fire, okay.
- Oh, what?! It's on fire.
- It just gave up.
It just burst into flames.
- The fact that people go out of their way
to watch something like this, I don't understand it.
- That was good. I enjoyed that a lot.
- Whoever came up with this is a genius and I appreciate them so much.
I watch these videos all day.
- (FBE) So these types of videos have actually been around
for some time from a small channel called Fire Sweet Fire.
The channel we first showed you is called Watch It Melt.
The other is called MrGear.
- Okay, I've seen the MrGear ones.
- (FBE) The MrGear channel is getting tens of millions of views per video.
- Wow.
- Just for cutting through stuff with a heated knife?
- (FBE) And it's blown up from there,
where practically every major YouTube channel
is making content like this.
Here's a collage of thumbnails just found
from the first 64 videos that showed up
when we searched for 1,000 Degree Knife.
- It's all the same.
- Why?!
- Joey Graceffa's doing it? That's so many!
I didn't know it blew up this much.
♪ (punk rock music) ♪
- (FBE) Before today, did you know about the 1,000 Degree Knife trend?
- No, not in the slightest.
- Yes, I did.
- I did know about it.
I've seen it all over my Explore page on Instagram.
- Yeah, I've seen it a few times around, like Snapchat, Instagram.
- It's all over YouTube.
It's always in my Recommended.
- They just kept popping up on my YouTube,
and I was just like, "Go away!"
- I saw them a lot on the YouTube Trending and I was like,
"Oh, what's this? A guy chopping into sneakers.
That's kind of cool."
And then I watched it,
and then I watched it for, like, another two, three hours,
and I was like, "Oh, this is a thing that I really like."
- (FBE) So this trend has been very polarizing,
with many of the people who make videos with the 1,000 Degree Knife
even call out how stupid it is in the video,
or how absurd it is that videos like this are getting tens of millions of views
and being recommended by YouTube's algorithm all the time.
Others feel the trend started inside trends like Oddly Satisfying
or even the ASMR community.
So what is it about these videos that make this so polarizing?
- Because it's just so simple.
I could see how it triggers the ASMR and senses videos,
but I could also see how it pisses people off
because it's just like, obviously, what do you expect?
It's just the lack of originality in the videos.
- It definitely is really absurd, and I realize that.
I'm like, okay, why am I watching this,
but yet, at the same time, I'm stuck in it.
It's lowering the quality of a lot of YouTube videos.
- It's just so stupid. Like, I just really don't understand it.
- I get if you're a YouTuber who maybe isn't a huge YouTuber,
but you pump out stuff consistently and you have a decent following,
and you're seeing that your stuff now isn't getting as many views
as the knife challenge because of the way YouTube's algorithm works.
I get being really upset with that.
- (FBE) So this trend is kind of being treated like a meme
or even like a huge challenge trend at this point.
- All right-- okay, stop right there!
I HATE the challenge thing!
You're making a challenge out of something that's not a challenge!
I don't get it. I really don't.
- (FBE) But this really shows how when something gets popular
on YouTube these days, it feels like everyone
will jump on the trend to do it.
So, as a viewer, what do you think about that?
- Okay, well, trending things are always going to have the bandwagon.
I guess the more, the merrier.
- That just sums up the internet.
Yeah, there's a lack of originality, but at the same time,
it's satisfying the YouTuber himself, he's satisfying his fans.
- It's sort of sad that you have to follow the trend
to get views to make money or whatever,
but then everyone wants to see the popular YouTuber do
the big thing at that moment.
- It's fun to see your favorite YouTuber's perspective
on something like this, but, at the same time,
it kind of oversaturates part of YouTube, you know what I mean,
because now everybody's recommendation is just ten different channels
with the same video.
- I'm not really a fan of the whole everyone jumps on trends
because I feel like that puts you more towards mainstream media,
and the whole thing about YouTube is finding people who are unique
and who do their own thing.
- I do think it's detrimental to the overall quality of YouTube
because it kind of discourages originality,
and it discourages actually striving to make your content,
you know, in my opinion, good.
But if that's what the viewers want, then that's what they're gonna watch.
- (FBE) So this trend is something that many YouTubers
are making videos for, even though they might think it's silly,
but they still do it.
Even with us covering this right now,
it will add to and perpetuate the spread of this trend.
So whether you do the trend because you want views,
or because you want to make fun of it,
YouTube, as a whole, tends to make things just get larger than life sometimes.
So what did you think about this aspect of trend culture on YouTube?
- There's no such thing as bad publicity.
Like, if you talk about it, it gives it attention,
and when it gets attention, it gets more popular.
- It's not just YouTube, you know, it's kind of how the internet works.
Like, things go viral, and when things to viral,
people are-- like, your favorite YouTuber is expected to talk about it.
- It's lazy, but at the same time, I can't really knock them for doing that
because, I mean, it is a smart thing to do.
If something is popular, you might as well talk about it.
- Everything is so complicated just because it's like,
"Oh, this is stupid.
I'm gonna do it anyway," and then you do it,
and then it gains popularity, then everyone's like,
"Oh, this is stupid."
But then everyone keeps on doing it and it just sort of keeps on going
until the next meme comes.
- (FBE) So, finally, we actually have something for you.
- Oh, fun. Do I get to burn stuff?
- I don't want to cut anything!
- You guys are going to actually make me cut something?
That would be fricking-- this isn't an actual 1,000 degree knife.
What the heck? You guys got me super hyped.
- Oh, what?
I thought it would be a real hot knife.
I was like, I've never used one before.
That would be so cool.
I am so mad.
- The 100 degree challenge! Let's go, cutting my arm for views!
- Thanks for watching this episode of Teens React.
- We have new episodes across all generations every week,
so makes sure to be subscribed.
- Bye, guys, I'm off to do the 1,000 Degree Knife challenge.
Don't try this stuff at home.
- Hey, what's up everybody? It's Dallen here from FBE.
Thanks so much for watching this episode of Teens React.
Now, if you liked what you saw, we've got plenty more
down below, so go ahead and click!
♪ (punk rock music) ♪