Devious lick#Similar trends

File:Letter that was licked "deviously", making the sign read "Liberty North High Schoo".jpg's front sign after being vandalised by a "devious lick", with the 'L' in "school" having been stolen.]]The trend originated on September 1, 2021, after the TikTok user jugg4elias posted a video showing a box of disposable masks they claimed to have stolen from school, with the caption "A month into school... devious lick". Similar videos with the term "devious lick" soon flooded the platform, with students stealing items from bathrooms, such as soap and paper towel dispensers, toilet paper roll shields, urinals, sinks, mirrors, and floor and ceiling tiles. Eventually, students allegedly began stealing items outside of the bathrooms, including exit signs, telephones, smart boards, and microscopes. The videos were typically accompanied by a sped-up version of Lil B's "Ski Ski BasedGod".{{Cite web |date=2021-09-16 |title=“Devious Lick” Challenge Hits Franklin Schools |url=https://wlds.com/devious-lick-challenge-hits-franklin-schools/ |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=WLDS |language=en-US}} The videos' captions often modify the name of the trend with synonymous adjectives, such as "mischievous" or "diabolical licks".

Various schools began taking action against the trend, warning students of serious consequences and arrests. Some schools in New Brunswick had reported their toilets being sprayed with red food coloring{{Cite web |last=Sutherland |first=Marie |date=2021-10-08 |title=N.B. schools vandalized in viral TikTok challenge |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/devious-licks-tiktok-challenge-1.6203219 |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=CBC}} and other forms of vandalism. In British Columbia, 42 soap dispensers{{cite web |last=Claxton |first=Matthew |date=September 18, 2021 |title=Vandalism in Langley schools linked to 'Devious Lick' TikTok challenge |url=https://www.todayinbc.com/news/vandalism-in-langley-schools-linked-to-devious-lick-tiktok-challenge/ |website=Today in BC}} were ripped out from school bathrooms within the span of one week. In Huron County, Ontario, a bathroom had all of its urinals{{Cite web |date=2021-10-07 |title='Devious Licks' TikTok challenge hits Huron County |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/devious-licks-tiktok-challenge-hits-huron-county-1.6203948 |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=CBC}} and toilets clogged with enormous amounts of paper towels, while other toilet paper was ripped out and thrown to the ground. Another video also showed a student stealing a classmate's pants while the latter was sitting in a bathroom stall.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS11y1idOr8 |title=Guy steals pants in the most ungodly lick |date=2021-09-14 |last=Wilt Chamberlain |access-date=2025-04-10 |via=YouTube}}

More serious vandalism attributed to the trend involved broken mirrors and light fixtures.{{cite news|url=https://people.com/human-interest/what-to-know-about-devious-lick-tiktok-challenge/|title=What to Know About the 'Devious Lick' TikTok Challenge – and Why Schools are Warning Parents|work=People|last=Goldstein|first=Joelle|date=September 16, 2021|access-date=September 17, 2021}}{{cite web |last=Haasch |first=Palmer |title=Students are claiming on TikTok that they stole soap dispensers, SmartBoards, and microscopes from schools as part of a growing trend |url=https://www.insider.com/devious-lick-tiktok-meaning-stealing-school-equipment-meme-2021-9 |website=Insider |access-date=19 September 2021}} In Polk County, Florida, three students were arrested from two high schools, as well as one 15-year-old who was arrested for damaging and stealing soap dispensers at Bartow High School.{{cite news |date=September 17, 2021 |title=Florida teens arrested after taking part in 'devious lick' TikTok challenge, sheriff says |url=https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-teens-arrested-after-taking-part-in-devious-lick-tiktok-challenge-sheriff-says/37637107 |access-date=September 18, 2021 |work=WESH Channel 2}} In Boone County, Kentucky, eight students were charged over the trend, with four receiving theft and four receiving vandalism charges.{{cite news|last1=Knight|first1=Cameron|last2=Endale|first2=Brook|date=September 17, 2021|title=TikTok 'devious licks' trend: 8 juveniles charged in Boone County|work=Cincinnati Enquirer|url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/2021/09/17/tiktok-devious-licks-trend-arrests-charges-boone-county-school/8364148002/|access-date=September 20, 2021}} In Stafford County, Virginia, a student from Stafford Senior High School was charged for vandalizing a park bathroom near the school. In Mohave County, Arizona, a 15-year-old was arrested for stealing a school toilet paper dispenser.{{cite news|url=https://people.com/human-interest/students-getting-arrested-for-participating-in-tiktok-devious-lick-challenge/|title=Students Across the U.S. Face Criminal Charges After Participating in 'Devious Lick' TikTok Trend|work=People|last=Goldstein|first=Joelle|date=September 20, 2021|access-date=September 20, 2021}}

In May and June 2022, Cornell University, an Ivy League institution, had all the letters of their sign spelling "Cornell University" within the College Town Bridge stolen, with progress of the crime and missing letters posted on Instagram.{{cite web | url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Cornell/comments/v1dd7e/if_you_see_people_fucking_up_the_cornell_sign/ | title=If you see people fucking up the Cornell sign, call that shit out | date=May 31, 2022 }}{{cite web|url=https://imgur.com/tR0gWir|publisher=Imgur | title=Imgur| date=May 30, 2022}}

The original devious lick video was removed on September 13, and TikTok subsequently began removing videos featuring the trend. It was banned by TikTok on September 15 for violating its community guidelines against illegal activities, by which time the "devious" hashtag had over 235 million views. The hashtag and related search results were redirected to an error message about TikTok's Community Guidelines.{{cite news|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2021/09/what-is-the-devious-lick-tiktok-trend-what-does-it-mean-heres-what-to-know.html|title=What is the 'devious lick' TikTok trend? What does it mean? Here's what to know|work=NJ.com|last=Rodriguez|first=Katherine|date=September 15, 2021|access-date=September 17, 2021}}

In addition to schools and the police, various media commentators condemned the trend.{{cite news|last=Navlakha|first=Meera|date=September 23, 2021|title=Trevor Noah is really not amused by the TikTok devious licks challenge|work=Mashable|url=https://mashable.com/video/trevor-noah-devious-licks-tiktok|access-date=September 27, 2021}}

Journalist Brock Colyar of Curbed demonstrated that three separate videos of supposed "devious licks" were, in fact, all staged, with one video of a student supposedly stealing a microscope actually being of a microscope the student owned at home, and critiqued the media and political response as a moral panic.{{cite news|last=Colyar|first=Brock|authorlink=Brock Colyar |date=September 22, 2021|title=The Grown-up Hysteria Around TikTok's Devious Licks|work=Curbed|url=https://www.curbed.com/2021/09/the-grown-up-hysteria-around-tiktoks-devious-licks-trend.html|access-date=September 27, 2021}}

After the media backlash and crackdown on devious licks, some TikTok users began participating in a countertrend known as "angelic yields", where users anonymously donated items to their schools, such as bottles of soap and rolls of toilet paper, typically to replace whatever had been stolen during a devious lick, or to hide a gift for someone to find, often in the form of a small amount of cash.{{Cite news |date=September 20, 2021 |title=After the destructive 'Devious Licks' trend may come 'Angelic Yields,' social media posts to atone for school vandalism |url=https://kesq.com/news/top-stories/2021/09/20/after-the-destructive-devious-licks-trend-may-come-angelic-yields-social-media-posts-to-atone-for-school-vandalism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921173443/https://kesq.com/news/top-stories/2021/09/20/after-the-destructive-devious-licks-trend-may-come-angelic-yields-social-media-posts-to-atone-for-school-vandalism/ |archive-date=September 21, 2021 |access-date=September 23, 2021 |website=KESQ |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Haasch|first=Palmer|date=September 21, 2021|title=TikTok creators say they're leaving money, toilet paper, and soap in bathrooms in a reversal of the 'devious licks' school-stealing trend|url=https://www.insider.com/angelic-yield-tiktok-trend-devious-lick-stealing-school-2021-9|access-date=September 23, 2021|website=Insider|language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Bradford |first=Taylor Ann |date=September 23, 2021 |title=TikTok trend leads to vandalism in Gloucester schools |url=https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/tiktok-trend-leads-to-vandalism-in-gloucester-schools/article_f053a0aa-1bad-11ec-9cde-13e80aae5679.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923100820/https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/tiktok-trend-leads-to-vandalism-in-gloucester-schools/article_f053a0aa-1bad-11ec-9cde-13e80aae5679.html |archive-date=September 23, 2021 |access-date=September 23, 2021 |website=Gloucester Daily Times |publisher=John Celestino |language=en}}

Although the trend may have ended, the common idea of vandalism of school property continued. In 2025, a similar trend emerged, nicknamed "The Chromebook Challenge" or "F Students Are Inventors".{{Cite web |date=2025-05-09 |title=What Is The 'F Students Are Inventors' Meme? The Original TikTok Video From Influencer Ben Azoulay Explained |url=https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-the-f-students-are-inventors-meme-the-original-tiktok-video-from-influencer-ben-azoulay-explained |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Know Your Meme |language=en}} The new trend similarly encourages school damage, mainly with vandalism of Chromebooks by inserting conductive materials such as pencil leads into the USB ports until it catches fire.{{Cite web |date=2025-05-07 |title=The TikTok Trend That Has Kids Setting Their School Laptops On Fire During Class |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tiktok-trend-kids-setting-school-165834563.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAkIAwRVpUbWblgSbZTzM8YGZTcciQKRA2pZOq_YTKyx5g_l6oA9D6vgCvs0OgAdSrk8-vwmjoharmgj8KyhlbRqJhHT4HRXyf4wesoT7vMH7Qp5KVzMQJ6noCmXSHaV7bHPuA9lRARJm6CM3yh2eGdqEWMKWZomWp91FK0ZXH6o |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Yahoo Life |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=Tom |date=2025-05-10 |title=Dangerous TikTok ‘Chromebook challenge’ showing up at Arizona schools |url=https://www.azfamily.com/2025/05/10/dangerous-tiktok-chromebook-challenge-showing-up-arizona-schools/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.azfamily.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025-05-09 |title=TikTok prank 'Chromebook Challenge' prompts warnings from schools after laptops are intentionally set on fire |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tiktok-prank-chromebook-challenge-rcna205784 |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=NBC News |language=en}} The trend, similar to Devious licks, which would play a specific audio, The Chromebook Challenge often features audio of influencer Ben Azoulay saying "The F Students Are Inventors, they're so fucking creative, that whatever they were trying to teach them in class." {{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIfDhHqTlkW/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=www.instagram.com}} Although similar incidents, such as bathroom vandalism, similar to the Devious Licks trend have occurred in May 2025.

In March 2022, the Washington Post reported that Facebook's owner Meta Platforms paid Targeted Victory—a consulting firm backed by supporters of the U.S. Republican Party—to coordinate lobbying and media campaigns against TikTok, without disclosing any connection linking back to Meta.{{Cite web |last=Schroeder |first=Audra |date=2022-03-30 |title='Devious licks' and 'slap a teacher' trends were reportedly part of Meta's anti-TikTok campaign |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/devious-licks-trend-meta-tiktok-campaign/ |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=The Daily Dot |language=en-US}} Its efforts included recruiting local reporters to put out stories, writing letters and opinion pieces in the name of concerned parents, and drawing attention to trends such as "devious licks" and "Slap a Teacher" that actually originated on Facebook. Spokespersons of Targeted Victory and Meta defended their firm's roles.{{Cite news |last1=Lorenz |first1=Taylor |last2=Harwell |first2=Drew |date=2022-03-30 |title=Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/30/facebook-tiktok-targeted-victory/ |access-date=2022-03-30 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

• Milk crate challenge, a risky physical challenge that also gained popularity on TikTok in 2021
• Restrictions on TikTok

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Category:2020s fads and trends

Category:2021 neologisms

Category:TikTok trends

category:Vandalism in Canada

Category:Vandalism in the United States

Category:Crimes

Category:Juvenile delinquency

Category:Theft

Category:Internet memes introduced in 2021