There’s one special group of people who just can’t get enough of these unusual videos.

One of the great things about living in a world with Internet is the ability to find people who share your unusual pleasures and pastimes. When enough people band together with such passion that it makes seemingly ordinary videos go viral, it has the power to make everyone around the world sit up and take notice, and more often than not, everyone ends up learning a few things about themselves and the wonders of human nature too.

That’s what’s currently happening with a new viral online trend from China that’s got everyone talking. And the unusual images and videos that people can’t stop looking at appear simple; all it involves is the act of eating ice.

The appeal of ice-eating might not be obvious at first, but after seeing a few of the videos online, the attraction becomes a little more evident.

For many people, these videos don’t elicit any great emotional or physical reaction, but for some, these videos act as a stimuli or trigger for an autonomous sensory meridian response. ASMR, as it’s known, can be described as a tingling sensation on or inside the body, which creates a positive feeling of low-grade euphoria.

Stimuli known to trigger ASMR can include: the sound of a whispering voice; quiet, repetitive noises created by someone doing a mundane task like chopping; and loud chewing, slurping, or crunching of food, drinks or gum.

The act of eating ice is such an effective trigger for ASMR that it even has its own viral #iceeating hashtag. People in China are currently hooked on watching the ice-eating videos, with the most popular ones featuring women chomping down on frozen water, which comes in a variety of colours, shapes and textures.

Even items that aren’t actually ice, but have an ice-like crunch and appearance, like these Kohaku-tou rock candies, are making people tingle online.

People around the world are falling in love with both the sound and look of these videos, and with or without ASMR, these clips are strangely captivating and relaxing. Watching people doing the simplest of things can be a great way to relieve some stress, and even Brooklyn Beckham’s Japanese candy maker has an ASMR following!

Featured image: Instagram/iceeeecraving
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