Heat waves make people do unusual things. Some turn the AC to the coldest setting. Others head to the nearest pool. And some, it seems, climb into a supermarket meat cooler to cool off. A viral video shows a man and a woman climbing into an open meat cooler at a grocery store in Washington, DC. They lie on top of packages of raw and cooked meat to escape the heat.
The clip was shared by the X account @Raindropsmedia1. It shows the man getting into the cooler first. The woman then joins him and wraps her arms around him as people nearby film the scene.
The pair do not seem bothered by the crowd. They appear to enjoy the attention and treat the moment like social media content.
Meanwhile, the video has gone viral, with more than 10 million views. It has also sparked strong backlash online.
Most people are upset about food safety. Many say the store may have to throw away all the meat the pair touched because of possible contamination. Others criticized the pair’s behavior altogether.
The video has also led to racial comments. Many replies use the incident to make broader stereotypes, even though the original post refers to them as “People.”
Internet Reacts to Washington DC Meat Cooler Video
Unsurprisingly, most of the internet did not find this charming. One X user summed up the dominant sentiment: “They should both be arrested and forced to pay for all the food they just contaminated.” Another commenter kept it blunt: “Not even a little bit funny. Now they have to throw out all that product.”
Others focused less on punishment and more on sheer confusion at the choice itself. “Laying on top of raw meat packages just to cool down is a whole new level of desperate!” one comment read. Another added, “That’s just nasty why would you lay on food???”
A few leaned into the absurdity of it from the shopper’s perspective: “Imagine going shopping for steak and finding a human on top of it.”
The video comes as much of the East Coast faces an intense heat wave. Washington, DC, reached 102 degrees this past week, which broke a 120-year-old temperature record.
