On May 24, Mike Senatore flipped a water bottle for his senior talent show at The Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. When it landed standing upwards, the crowd reacted with a rousing applause, cheering on Senatore. Little did they know that they would be creating the Internet’s next viral trend. Today, a simple search query of “bottle flipping” will reveal thousands of videos of people replicating Senatore’s act to the song “Ultimate” by Denzel Curry. This has become a national phenomenon, and people can be seen bottle flipping in many different public areas. Walk into our cafeteria and one can see several people flipping bottles. In fact, even the morning announcements featured a spoof on videos edited to look like people flipped bottles. Freshman Gaurav Sethi said of the bottle flip craze, “When you go to the lunch room, all you can see is kids flipping bottles, it’s insane!”

While bottle flipping has taken over the Internet, some people have become concerned that it is a distraction and a nuisance. Freshman Vikaas Varma said, “I think bottle flipping was interesting and a little fun for the first couple weeks until it got out of hand and people began to spend their entire lunches flipping.” As far as the classroom goes, math teacher Mrs. Skutnik said, “It’s not a distraction in the classroom, but it’s a distraction in the halls and in my house.” Social studies teacher Mr. Sylvester  said, “I feel that bottle flipping can be a distraction, but is also a kinesthetic way to get students’ blood flowing and energy level up for the class ahead. As a proclaimed champion bottle flipper, I do not mind the occasional flip at appropriate times.”