The Origins Of Skibidi Toilet Explained

In early 2023, seemingly overnight, the youth of the world became obsessed with creepy, disembodied heads that pop out of toilets and sing a catchy tune. This was the dawn of "Skibidi Toilet," a series of found-footage horror-comedy-action short videos on YouTube that has garnered an ever-growing diehard Generation Alpha viewership. While older YouTube users might be binging the slew of free TV shows and movies available on the video platform, this is the kind of content that's catching the eyes of kids.

Created by YouTuber DaFuq!?Boom!, whose total subscriber count skyrocketed to over 41 million in May 2024 thanks to the popularity of the series, "Skibidi Toilet" has caused quite a moral panic since its inception, with parents and teachers claiming that it's causing brain rot in youngsters. In fact, this panic has gotten so bad that Russian authorities have investigated the disturbing meme.

Still, there's more to "Skibidi Toilet" than meets the eye. While there is admittedly some crudeness and eye-rolling weirdness about singing heads popping out of toilets and urinals, the more you watch the series, the more you appreciate the increasingly good animation, dialogue-free storytelling, and surprisingly deep storyline about war and conflict. Here are the origins of "Skibidi Toilet," the most baffling Gen Alpha internet trend, explained.

At a first glance, it's easy to categorize "Skibidi Toilet" as a thing of gross-out humor. However, there's actually a really deep and intricate storyline to the series of YouTube shorts. To summarize, the singing toilet heads are invading the world, and it's up to the protagonists — an army of Cameramen — to fight this new foe. When the battle begins, the Cameramen defeat the toilets rather easily by simply flushing their heads. Yet the toilets, which range from small in size to kaiju-esque, are numerous and expanding in numbers, even constructing monuments and forming worship sites.

With each video, DaFuq!?Boom! ups the ante, transforming "Skibidi Toilet" from a simple internet meme of singing heads in a toilet to an unprecedentedly epic war. Dozens of new characters have been introduced, including the impenetrable G-Toilet and more heroes in the form of Speakermen and TV Men. They, along with the Cameramen, make up the Alliance. There are twists and turns, including a particularly jaw-dropping moment in Episode 32, when the massive Titan Speakerman is commandeered by the toilets. Despite the strength of the Alliance, the toilet invaders are strategic and find new ways — like utilizing broken bits from the Alliance for gear — to enhance their strength. The war, though it's still ongoing, climaxes in Episode 70 in a daring raid on the toilet base of operations, full of dramatic character deaths and satisfying showdowns.

No matter how one feels about "Skibidi Toilet," it's hard to deny that the recurring song of the series ("Skibidi dom dom dom yes yes") is pretty darn catchy. But what exactly is this tune? It's not the brainwave of DaFuq!?Boom!, but rather a remix of Biser King's "Dom Dom Yes Yes" blended with Timbaland's "Give It To Me."

Bulgarian artist Biser King isn't exactly new to having the track attached to a viral meme. Before "Skibidi Toilet," there was Yasin Cengiz, a social media personality who shakes his belly and two-steps at different locales to the beat of the song. Biser King has said he doesn't mind the viral uses of his music. Instead, he said, he's happy that it's bringing some semblance of joy to the masses, whether it's through Cengiz or "Skibidi Toilet." He told Why Now, "The feeling of creating a world hit is unique. Feeling the love from many people all over the world and seeing hundreds of people all over the world having fun with my song is the most valuable thing to me."

Later "Skibidi Toilet" videos feature the song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears. One can only assume the English rock band is happy to have its song used as the anthem of a camera-headed resistance to a hostile toilet takeover.

Unless someone is the parent, older sibling, or teacher of an elementary or middle schooler, there's a chance that they've never heard of "Skibidi Toilet." That's because the series' audience largely comprises Gen Alpha, who latched onto it and don't seem to be letting go anytime soon.

On TikTok, clips have emerged of kids embodying "Skibidi Toilet" by sticking their heads out of clothes baskets and Amazon boxes while singing the song. One boy even used the tune as a coping mechanism while getting a needle at the doctor (and we honestly can't blame him). Some TikTokers have also made videos to parody the idea of "Skibidi Toilet Syndrome," including a dramatic post that shows one child suffering from "Skibidi" addiction, demanding that he get the family iPad to watch "Skibidi Toilet."

But why is Generation Alpha so obsessed with "Skibidi Toilet"? DaFuq!?Boom! may have been inspired by the millennial-centric "Half-Life 2" and "Transformers" when bringing "Skibidi Toilet" to life, but he thinks he understands why this younger generation has taken such an interest in his work — it's unlike anything that's available to them via streaming or network television. The animator told Forbes, "[It] doesn't feel generic or corporate." Despite using assets from some of the most popular games ever made, the series twists them with unrelenting action, an original mythology, and lots of toilet humor.

A moral panic has formed around "Skibidi Toilet," with many adults expressing fear that the series causes brain rot and will have lasting detrimental effects on their children. After all, though the series isn't exactly gory, there are some rather violent war scenes between the toilets and camera-headed heroes, which parents believe isn't the best thing for a child to consume in large amounts on a daily basis. One Malaysian parenting website, Motherhood, outlined instructions on how to restrict "Skibidi Toilet" content on YouTube.

The moral panic has gotten so bad that, in January 2024, Russian authorities began investigating Alexey Gerasimov's viral series following a complaint by a Moscow parent whose son was, like countless other kids, obsessed with "Skibidi Toilet." A source told Russian news site IA Regnum (via Metro), "An appeal was received from a resident of Moscow about the need to block video materials on the internet in the form of short films Skibidi Toilet, which has a detrimental effect on children. After the appeal, the police began an investigation and appointed an officer who will collect materials on the application." While excessive screen use has been proven to cause negative effects like slow language development, sleep problems, and anxiety, according to the National Institutes of Health, there is no proof, as of yet, that "Skibidi Toilet" in particular has any detrimental effects beyond those that come from extended screen time, which can occur no matter what's being watched.

On the heels of DaFuq!?Boom!'s fast success, other creators began making their own "Skibidi Toilet" series in an attempt to piggyback on the trend. One example is YouTuber DOM Studio, who releases videos of the toilets taking on characters from the video game "Garten of Banban." DOM Studio also does a "Skibidi Toilet Multiverse" series, which, as of May 2024, had 35 parts. These videos also garner millions of views, but nowhere near what DaFuq!?Boom!'s channel sees. Most videos of DOM Studio average about 10 million. Alexey Gerasimov's creation has also spawned the video games "Skibidi Defense" and "Skibidi Tower Defense," both by Fixated Games on Roblox and seemingly not associated with the creator.

Meanwhile, on TikTok, a number of accounts are pretending to be the YouTuber. They post his videos and have extremely similar usernames, tricking fans into believing they are the real creator. Though Gerasimov has attempted to have such stolen content removed, he hasn't had much luck. He told Dexerto, "I tried to take them down, but TikTok support doesn't care, even after all the proof I've given to them. They're unable to verify me."