A video has gone viral on Reddit showing a street food vendor in Jaipur, India putting their hand in "boiling oil" more than once. He seemed unharmed in the post that can be found everywhere on the internet.
According to India Today, the vendor was frying pakoda during the viral moment. A food blogger with an account called Bombay Foodie Tales captured the occurrence and shared it on Instagram where it has since gained a lot of traction and gone viral.
The vendor, who works at Kisan Pakode Wala, was frying pakoda using a kadhai when he dipped his hand in the boiling oil more than once. He even smiled during the moment. The video, which is available here, featured the food blogger watching the vendor cook and trying the dish as well. The full version of the video showed the vendor's hand seemingly unharmed after dipping it in the oil.
On Reddit, the short 16-second clip version of the video was shared to the subreddit r/interestingasf**k by u/GroundbreakingSet187 on January 19. The post is titled, "This street food vendor in Jaipur, India puts his hand in boiling oil, and nothing happens."
In the version shared on Reddit, the vendor stood with his hands on his hips, and then stuck his hand in twice while also smiling. He flung the excess water off his hand and drank from a small cup before the video concluded.
According to Statista, the estimated population in India in 2021 was 1.39 billion people. That number is expected to rise in 2022 to 1.41 billion people.
The video has been upvoted on Reddit over 40,000 times, and people were shocked. Many theorized how the vendor seemed unharmed in the video post.
Some viewers had jokes about the video. "He's probably drinking pure lava at the very end there," someone said.
Another theorized about what the vendor is drinking as well, saying, "This man just drunk fire resistance potion, right?"
Other people had comments like, "The trick is not caring," and "He's secretly dying inside."
While some users theorized how the vendor did that without being harmed. "The trick might be air pumped at the bottom," someone wrote.
Another called the situation "quite common, and very terrifying," adding, "this happens in India with street vendors."
One Reddit comment garnered over 3,600 upvotes. "I'd wager the feeling in his hand is dead, and he thinks it's a fun trick to dip his hand in hot stuff for shock value," a Redditor said. "Interesting fact, just because you can't feel it doesn't mean you aren't causing immense damage to your body."
Some think the vendor's hand must have been wet. "You wet your hand and the water instantly turns to steam which gives you a small thermal barrier for a very, very short amount of time before the oil can start heating your skin," someone said.
One person insisted, "Don't try this at home."
Another Reddit user mentioned the vendor's face, saying, "And the poker face of the year award goes to...This guy."
However, one viewer insisted, "You can see the pain behind his smile."
Newsweek reached out to Instagramer Bombay Foodie Tales for comment.
Updated 01/21/2022, 5:28 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a verified video of the incidident.
