Reddit has by far the largest collection of weird subcultures on the Internet—so it’s probably not surprising that it has one dedicated solely to showering with oranges.
Eating oranges can be a messy experience that usually involves getting orange juice all over your hands. To that end, some Redditors found an easy way to deal with the whole clean-up by showering while they consume the juicy citrus fruit.
Members of the community take photos of oranges in the shower, and of themselves showering while eating oranges.
The subreddit’s rules are simple: No nudity, no grapefruits, and “be kind to others.” The second rule is important: It states that the community holds extremely strict rules prohibiting imagery of grapefruits, which do not qualify as oranges. Only oranges, clementines, tangerines and blood oranges are allowed.
I can’t for the life of me fathom how eating oranges in the shower could’ve ever become a “thing,” but given the platform it’s hosted on, it’s no surprise that the whole thing was spawned by a post made a year ago that asked people to share “unconventional things everyone will enjoy.”
In the post, a now-deleted user named PHOTON_BANDIT wrote that the most “liberating, carnal, and best feel good thing” he ever experienced was eating oranges in the shower.
He wrote:
“Well just think about it PHOTON_BANDIT. Tearing apart a cold fresh orange with your bare hands, just letting the juices run over your body. Not worrying if your [sic] going to get sticky, or anything. Just ripping it in half, and tearing into it with your teeth like a savage cannibal who hasnt [sic] eaten in a week! Yes PHOTON_BANDIT, this is the most carnal, ferocious, liberating thing a man can do”
The rest, as they say, is history.
As expected, the Reddit community is filled with images of people eating oranges in the shower and testimonies attesting to the same feelings PHOTON_BANDIT went through when he first tried it. Some people even eat the peel.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.