Wet Unboxing

About

Wet Unboxing is a series of YouTube similar to unboxing videos. In the clips, a person unwraps various food or medicinal items while submerged in water for mesmerizing effect.

Origin

The earliest known version of the Wet Unboxing was posted by artist and YouTuber Alex Frost on July 22nd, 2018 (shown below). The video features a person opening a "Tesco – ploughman's sandwich, no mayo" underwater. Within three months, the post received more than 11,000 views.

Spread

Over the next few months, Frost continued to post various Wet Unboxing videos. On August 16th, they posted the video "Opening Berocca underwater." The post received more than 13,000 views in less than two months (shown below, left).

Several days later, they posted "Opening a carton of soup underwater." In about one month, the post received more than 15,000 views (shown below, right).

Numerous media outlets covered the videos, including Mashable, ^[1] Motherboard ^[2] and more.

Speaking to the Guardian,^[3] Frost said of the videos, "I decided to do the unboxings underwater so they would be read as mesmerising or unsettling, rather than as an advert for the product. I can’t imagine the companies that produce these products would necessarily want them displayed in this way – but then I’m not really misrepresenting them either; I’m just opening them underwater."

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

^[2] Motherboard – I Can't Stop Watching These Disgusting 'Wet Unboxing' Videos

^[3] The Guardian – The underwater art of ‘wet unboxing’: why it’s so mesmerising, unsettling and weirdly emotional