By Hazel Gandhi
A parody video shot by a magician where different solid objects are breaking down after reacting with an energy drink is being falsely shared to claim the ill effects of energy drinks and their harmfulness to the body. BOOM found that the video is from the page of a magician who regularly who uploads parody hack videos.
The video shows a man cutting a balloon with scissors, but when he dips the balloon in the energy drink, it is sealed again. Several other clips continue that show solid objects like fried eggs, fruits, and a hammer turning into rubber after reacting with the energy drink. The video is being shared with the caption, "Please spread this information about energy drinks and save their lives! Anyone who sees this will never have an energy drink ever again. No wonder people get sick!!!!!"
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
Click here, here, and here for similar tweets.
Also Read:No, Viral Video Does Not Show Huge Crowd Gathered For Asad Ahmad's Funeral
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the person in the video is Rick Lax, a man who identifies as a magician and makes several other parody life hack videos such as these.
A keyword search of the video using "balloon energy drink experiment" led us to a Facebook video posted on January 18, 2020 by a Lexi & Ocean & Rick on a page called The Rick Lax Show. The video was an exact match to our viral video and was titled, 'ENERGY DRINK HACKS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN! (Amazing 'Magic Hacks' from Rick Lax)'
Rick Lax shared the same video on his profile too. See here. Under the comments, we found that Lax written about using "sleight of hand and techniques that are very old" to do this magic. The comment, also an extension of the parody video, received several laughing reactions.
We went through The Rick Lax Show's Facebook page and found similar videos such as these. For instance, in one video, Lax breaks an earthen vase with a hammer and uses a weird combination of eggs, shaving cream, and dried noodles among other things to reconstruct the vase.
While this video about the ill-effects of energy drinks is false, there are several studies regarding the actual harm caused by energy drinks. Read here and here.
