This TikTok User Took EpiPen Safety to a New Level — With a Hilarious Tattoo

Every once in a while, a certain story told through TikTok goes insanely viral and becomes a talking point for users for some time. Well, that's exactly what happened to Tay Kobb (@taykobb), who shared an awkward dating story that educated viewers while also making them laugh.

Tay's video went viral for how truly unique and funny it is, while actually being a good idea. So, what happened in the "stab the crab" TikTok, why is it viral, and what does that even mean? Here's a breakdown.

The "stab the crab" TikTok addresses an all-too-common issue among individuals: anaphylaxis. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the condition "is common in the U.S. It occurs in about one in 50 Americans. Many believe the rate is higher than that. It is probably closer to one in 20."

With that high level of prevalence, the worry of encountering anaphylactic shock is on many's minds, and something that this user had to come face-to-face with while on a date.

"So one time I had just started dating this guy," Tay starts her video off by saying, before elaborating on how things went wrong.

"Now, granted, this next part might be my fault; deadly allergies should apparently be a first or second date conversation topic. But anyway, he had a shrimp cocktail before he met me out for the night. Things were going well, so his tongue might've ended up in my mouth later that night."

The user went on to say that she started "going into anaphylactic shock," explaining: "He grabs my EpiPen and hovers it above my chest and I'm like [gesturing no] 'Honey, this is not Pulp Fiction, I am not Uma Thurman, please refrain, and for the love of god brush your teeth next time."

Yikes. The story has a happy ending, however: "Later, after I wasn't dying anymore, it got me thinking. I decided to get this new tattoo; his name is Merlin," she said, showcasing an image of a crab tattooed on the left upper thigh.

She concluded the video by saying, "So when I have to explain again how to use my EpiPen to somebody I can gasp through dying breaths, 'stab the crab.'"

The video, shared on Sep. 4, 2020, has amassed over 1.5 million views and countless interactions; even Reddit threads sprung up discussing the ingenuity of using a tattoo to mark the point an EpiPen should be injected on a person's thigh.

One user also wrote of tattoos making others aware of their specific allergies: "At the studio I used to work at we used to do a ton of allergy tattoos, it’s a brilliant idea. One woman had a severe bee allergy so she tattooed a bee and allergy written underneath on her hand."