Netflix has to issue warning as people take on 'Bird Box' challenge

Christmas horror release Bird Box has had mixed reviews from critics, but it appears to have been a smash hit: Netflix lifted the usually tightly sealed lid on its viewership numbers in a recent tweet that disclosed 45 million subscriber accounts had watched the thriller during its first seven days on the service.

One consequence of this popularity is that it now has its own challenge, and it's something that's just as silly as the cinnamon challenge (which peaked in popularity in 2014, before people realised that trying to eat a teaspoon of cinnamon can cause irritation, or even lead to a lung infection).

The Bird Box challenge has people blindfolding themselves and then navigating the big bad world: some of them are less worrying, showing people moving around their living rooms, with only soft furnishings as a threat; while others show folk pulling beanies over their heads while driving (hopefully in a trick of editing, but still warranting concern consdering people might try and imitate them).

Many people who take on the challenge try and achieve things the characters in the film pulled off while blindfolded, and anyone who has seen Bird Box knows that this, combined with the one-upmanship that is a key element of these challenges, is a recipe for disaster.

This 24 hour Bird Box challenge has had two million views on YouTube:

The challenge has prompted Netflix to tweet a warning: 

But it has perhaps already reached its peak, and will die out soon, considering it's already hit mainstream morning TV: 

And here, one Twitter user reminds us that Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame has been Bird-Box-challenging since way back in 2006: 

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