The 'Chair Challenge' is taking over TikTok and here's how it works

29 November 2019, 12:45

By Jazmin Duribe

Here's how to do the viral Chair Challenge on TikTok.

We have made some truly wild discoveries on TikTok recently. This week, Ariana Grande lookalike Paige Niemann went viral for her somewhat spooky similarities to the singer. Meanwhile, Victorious fans were freaking out over a girl that looked like a combination of Victoria Justice and Avan Jogia. Now, there's the absolutely baffling Chair Challenge – and no-one knows how it works.

READ MORE: Ariana Grande reacts to viral video of TikTok star who looks exactly like her

To put it simply, the challenge basically involves grabbing a chair and standing up with it. But for some reason only women are able to stand up with the chair, while men struggle. Honestly, it makes absolutely no sense.

How to do the Chair Challenge on TikTok

If you want to try out the challenge for yourself, you'll need a chair, a wall and some willing participants.

First, stand right up against the wall, making sure you're facing it. Take three footsteps back and grab a chair, making sure it's right in front of you. Bend over the chair so that your body is at a 90-degree angle. Next, place your head against the wall and lift the chair up to your chest, keeping your head against the wall the whole time. Finish by trying to stand up straight with the chair in your hands.

Why can't men do the Chair Challenge?

Apparently, there's actual science behind why men and women get different results from the Chair Challenge. Some believe it's something to do with gravity, while others say it's simply because men have bigger feet than women.

US scientist Jeremy Johnson claims that it's all to do with our centre of gravity. "Interestingly enough, many girls can successfully complete this challenge, while most boys cannot," he explained in a blog post. "Why? Again, it's all about the centre of mass.

"The centre of mass for most girls is lower to the hips, while the centre of mass in boys is much higher. Therefore, for most girls, the centre of mass while bent over the chair is above their feet, while the centre of mass for most boys is above the chair."

However, Professor Brian Ford at Cambridge University told The Sun that women have the advantage in this challenge because of the size of their feet. "It is true that women have a lower centre of gravity than men, by several centimetres," he explained. "But that has no bearing on this crafty little trick.

"Men have longer feet than women. Two paces back for a man would be some 60cm, for a woman it's more like 50cm. So to begin with, the man is forced further away from the wall.

"The man's larger feet mean he is farther away from the wall than the woman, and is thus leaning forward. The woman's legs are closer to the wall, and are thus leaning back."

Whatever the reason, we are well and truly stumped.