# Tide Challenge: How Can P&G Know...? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498 "2018-01-26T01:36:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/1 "2018-01-26T01:36:22Z")
A radio snippet of interesting facts provided between songs said that P&G claims their sales of Tide Pods has significantly increased in the last week due to all the attention the Tide Pod challenge has gained in the news and social media. HOWEVER! They also claim the pods are being used to wash laundry, and not eating. How can they say this with such conviction? Is it just wishful thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/2 "2018-01-26T02:06:24Z")
Hey, a sale is a sale! Why should they care if you do laundry with them, eat them, or shove them up your ass. Cha-ching!! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/3 "2018-01-26T02:07:21Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > A radio snippet of interesting facts provided between songs said that P&G claims their sales of Tide Pods has significantly increased in the last week due to all the attention the Tide Pod challenge has gained in the news and social media. HOWEVER! They also claim the pods are being used to wash laundry, and not eating. How can they say this with such conviction? By lying? (This reminds me of a quote from a SUPERMAN story: _“If Luthor were a law-abiding citizen, he would somehow justify a four hundred percent interest charge on his loan. Since he was a criminal, however, he … had no moral dilemma to overcome. He was simply stealing the money, and that was fine with Luthor.”_) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/4 "2018-01-26T02:17:05Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Hey, a sale is a sale! Why should they care if you do laundry with them, eat them, **or shove them up your ass**. Cha-ching!! Is that the new Tide pod challenge? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/5 "2018-01-26T08:45:59Z")
They are actually on sale at my local Walmart. They have a big display set up in one center aisle. Yea, they know, they are cashing in on the news. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/6 "2018-01-26T09:37:04Z")
I suppose they could hire a polling company to call up a representative sample of consumers and ask them what they are doing with their Tide Pods. I don’t know that they did this. I am just proposing an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/7 "2018-01-26T10:48:24Z")
Through all sorts of data gathering techniques, companies have a pretty good idea of who is buying their product. If you are using a credit card, a loyalty card, etc, the gather information on who buys the product. If young kids were suddenly buying laundry detergent, they would see it in their data. Also, if the uptick in sales volume was due to kids eating the pods, the would be thousands of kids in the ER. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/8 "2018-01-26T11:10:45Z")
They’re saying there’s an uptick in sales. It likely is due to the publicity about the Tide Pod Challenge, and there is probably no other explanation for it. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/9 "2018-01-26T11:25:52Z")
(_William Tell Overture_ plays in background) Hey America! Show us your Tide Pods! ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/10 "2018-01-26T14:56:01Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@Jinx](#): > > > > A radio snippet of interesting facts provided between songs said that P&G claims their sales of Tide Pods has significantly increased in the last week due to all the attention the Tide Pod challenge has gained in the news and social media. HOWEVER! They also claim the pods are being used to wash laundry, and not eating. How can they say this with such conviction? Is it just wishful thinking? > > By lying? > … I’m curious who you are implying is lying. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/11 "2018-01-26T15:01:12Z")
Well, if they had a significant increase in sales for the purpose of eating them, the streets would be choked with their dead. But there’s no rash of Tide Pod related deaths so it seems reasonable to assume that they’re going into washing machines and not mouths. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/12 "2018-01-26T15:21:34Z")
I really don’t understand why people buy these. The convenience factor is so minimal and you can’t use less soap on a small load. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/13 "2018-01-26T15:36:27Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I really don’t understand why people buy these. The convenience factor is so minimal and you can’t use less soap on a small load. I got started using pods for my dishwasher. They do taste like crap, but the slight convenience for dropping them in the cleanser reservoir has kept me going. My dishwasher loads are all the same, though. I’ve never been tempted to try the laundry pods. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/14 "2018-01-26T15:44:31Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > A radio snippet of interesting facts provided between songs said that P&G claims their sales of Tide Pods has significantly increased in the last week due to all the attention the Tide Pod challenge has gained in the news and social media. HOWEVER! They also claim the pods are being used to wash laundry, and not eating. How can they say this with such conviction? Is it just wishful thinking? Have you considered that there may be an uptick in sales because everyone is talking about them, so it’s on everyone’s mind, so people are buying more of them. However, it hardly means that the extra pods are all being eaten. Think about it, if the morning radio station DJs talk about the tide pod challenge and 5000 people hear that conversation while driving to work. If one person decides to buy some Tide Pods it doesn’t mean they’re going to buy a 30 pack and those 30 are going to get eaten, by them or anyone else. Multiply this times the billions of people that have heard of this and have access to them. In other words, the sales may be up, but of the millions and millions of extra tide pods that they’ve made in the last few months (no idea what the actual number is), kids have eaten like a hundred of them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/15 "2018-01-26T15:48:48Z")
They specifically made the pods in taste tempting colors. They know. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/16 "2018-01-26T16:10:56Z")
Hoaxes teens start to scare old, gullible people: Jenkem Rainbow parties Pharm parties Smoking smarties and now, Tide Pod challenge Media eats them up, and the public doesn’t seem to learn from the previous 10 hoaxes. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/17 "2018-01-26T16:20:43Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > In other words, the sales may be up, but of the millions and millions of extra tide pods that they’ve made in the last few months (no idea what the actual number is), **kids have eaten like a hundred of them.** Snipped 'n bolded 100 pods eaten is probably high. If you watch the videos, 99% of the kids put the pod in their mouth and mug for the camera with a “Grampa is going to shit himself when he sees this” smirk, then the video ends. Considering how poisonous these are, if 100 pods were eaten there’d be an unacceptable amount of deaths and there’d be a sales ban. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/18 "2018-01-26T16:53:25Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > I’m curious who you are implying is lying. P&G. The OP asked how they can say that stuff with such conviction. I then figured: if you grant, for the sake of argument, that P&G can lie with conviction — well, that’d be one possibility that would neatly explain everything, right? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/19 "2018-01-26T16:59:51Z")
It doesn’t explain why the uptick in Tide sales isn’t accompanied by a corresponding uptick in hospitalizations for Tide poisoning. “Any publicity is good publicity”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498/20 "2018-01-26T17:16:23Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It doesn’t explain why the uptick in Tide sales isn’t accompanied by a corresponding uptick in hospitalizations for Tide poisoning. Well, is the Tide Pod Challenge _swallowing_ the stuff, or is it popping one in your mouth and maybe biting into it before spitting it out? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-challenge-how-can-p-g-know/807498.md?page=2)