Students warn TikTok not to carve pumpkins in dorm bathrooms after making shocking discovery in sink

Just in time for pumpkin carving season, two college students have taken to TikTok to warn others against constructing jack-o’-lanterns in their dorm bathrooms — and the reason is going viral.

TikToker Katie (@ganggangchickenwangg) gained 2.3 million views, 335,000 likes, 6,200 saves and 300 comments after uploading the unusual Halloween PSA to her account.

This isn’t the first time a plant-related PSA has gone viral on the app. Recently, a woman gained over 5.4 million views when she claimed that her oatmeal had caused “extreme digestive issues” after the raw chia seeds it contained began “growing” in her stomach.

While Katie’s pumpkin seed experience didn’t cause any digestive upsets, it did occur in her bathroom — specifically, in her sink.

‘Friendly reminder to not carve pumpkins in the bathroom of your dorm’

In the now-viral video, Katie told the story of how she gained a third roommate — one of the vegetative variety.

On top of photos taken during their pumpkin carving adventure, Katie warned viewers, “Friendly reminder to not carve pumpkins in the bathroom of your dorm.”

It would appear that sometime during their carving, a pumpkin seed made its way into the sink overflow hole, where it managed to take root and grow.

“tbh we have no idea how the seed even got in our drain and HOW IT SPROUTED?” Katie wrote in the caption — a question TikTokers claimed to have the answer to.

“it hydroponically sprouted from all the water! congrats on the pumpkin baby lol,” answered @sara_does.

“Seeds tend to grow the best in dark, damp spaces until it actually starts to sprout. So this checks out,” wrote @askskippy.

Other TikTokers, like @ya.suz.ya.lose, commented just to acknowledge the unusual sink discovery. “Imagine leaving for the summer and next year’s residents come back to a whole patch…”

However, others weren’t terribly shocked by Katie’s impromptu pumpkin patch.

“when I was little I would wash my hamster’s dish in my sink, the same thing happened to me LOL,” commented @animalsandalderaan.

“Happened to me with Chia seeds,” wrote @christensen.abbey.

‘How did it even survive all that?’

Katie’s sink-grown plant isn’t the only one to go viral on TikTok. In 2021, Kodiak (@kodiakcave) gained over 5.1 million views after sharing an unknown plant sprouting from his sink drain.

“I also use my sink and brush my teeth everyday. How did it even survive all that?” he wondered in the video’s caption.

When asked in the comments if he used Lush products, @kodiakcave replied that he does — perhaps explaining where the sprout came from.

In 2016, Lush’s Wiccy Magic Muscles bar, a pain-relieving massage bar that contains aduki beans, made headlines after mysterious plants began sprouting from customers’ sinks and bathtubs.

According to reports, the beans — which can grow plants 1-2 feet high without the need for soil — came loose from the bar and fell into users’ drains, where they flourished.

How can plants grow without sunlight or soil?

While we tend to think all plants need the perfect conditions to sprout, some have evolved to grow hydroponically — that is, without soil — and with minimal sunlight.

“In the absence of soil, water goes to work providing nutrients, hydration, and oxygen to plant life,” reported water treatment distributor Fresh Water Systems. “If a plant’s root system is exposed directly to water and nutrition, the plant does not have to exert any energy in sustaining itself.”

As for the lack of sunshine — especially in a windowless dorm bathroom — Smart Garden Guide reported, “Plants require light to make food for themselves, but it does not matter where the light originated. It only matters that it is the right kind of light.”

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