Blind USC long-snapper Jake Olson completes #BirdBoxChallenge
Unlike so many viral internet challenges, the latest one, the #BirdBoxChallenge, is actually a bit dangerous for most people. Thanks to the new and wildly popular Netflix movie, Bird Box — where the characters must remain blindfolded to avoid deadly consequences — inspired the challenge, where people attempt to do a variety of things blindfolded.
The challenge got so popular that Netflix even had to explicitly ask people to stop doing it.
Can’t believe I have to say this, but: PLEASE DO NOT HURT YOURSELVES WITH THIS BIRD BOX CHALLENGE. We don’t know how this started, and we appreciate the love, but Boy and Girl have just one wish for 2019 and it is that you not end up in the hospital due to memes.
— Netflix (@netflix) January 2, 2019
However, that warning didn’t stop USC long-snapper Jake Olson from successfully completing the challenge, and he tweeted a video of him snapping a ball while blindfolded.
Completed the Bird Box Challenge ??? #BirdBoxChallenge #BirdBox pic.twitter.com/WVc89cLRua
— Jake Olson (@JakeOlson61) January 3, 2019
Olson is legally blind, as he lost his left eye when he was 10-months-old and his right eye when he was 12 because of a rare cancer of the retina.