If you thought ramen noodles were just an affordable, easy dinner, you may have thought wrong.
A video that purportedly shows someone using dried ramen noodles to fix a gaping hole in a porcelain sink has gone viral this week — and it's making soup lovers all over the world question everything.
View this post on InstagramNoodles, seasoning packet, and boiling water. The only ingredients you truly need to perfect a bowl of Nissin Top Ramen with lower sodium.
A post shared byOriginal Top Ramen (@originaltopramen) on
According to House Beautiful, the DIY clip was originally posted to Instagram this week by the Brazil-based account Arquittando, however, it cannot be viewed without a follow back.
Since then, the hack has been reposted across the internet on various social media platforms and received plenty of international attention.
Ok I’ve really seen it all now. pic.twitter.com/TgS1pHFiNQ
— 🧜🏼♀️ (@riamichaelss) May 14, 2019So how does one perform said hack?
In the video, a large hole on the front of a white sink is first packed full of dried ramen noodles (and, inexplicably, seasoning), which are then smashed down into the porcelain to loosely fill up the cracks. The DIY-er then squirts a liquid on top of the noodles, then grabs a tool and sandpaper to smooth out the noodles until they are in line with the contoured shape of the sink. After letting the noodles dry into the surrounding porcelain (we suppose), the unidentified fixer-upper spray paints the area until it seamlessly blends with the white material.
Ingenious? Possibly.
Even model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen was floored by the post.
why the seasoning!?)????!!& https://t.co/T2sqABH8C1
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 15, 2019"why the seasoning!?)????!!&," Teigen wrote, to which she received some solid replies.
"For the flavor to sink in," one person wittily replied, followed by a round of applause from fellow tweeters.
Ouu. This here...this here is high quality pic.twitter.com/oDG0R69BwA
— JQ_Artiste (@Pseudo_Realism) May 15, 2019More joked about the person in the video being a "seasoned plumber."
Clearly it's a seasoned plumber.
— Jim Sias (@JimSias) May 15, 2019Shockingly, other tweeters shared more examples of ramen allegedly being used to repair serious damage, like a ding on a BMW. A car ... really?!
It’s very versatile apparently pic.twitter.com/JDC2ooBe0T
— Dina (@DinaSpyromilios) May 15, 2019Another showcased using the hack on a hole on what appears to be a metal table.
Here's the one I was looking for. pic.twitter.com/47oBWl598i
— Hugh's Your Daddy? (@hugh_daddy) May 15, 2019A lot of people speculated as to why someone would even resort to ramen.
This has to be a "I'm trying to get my apartment deposit back" fix.
— Angela (@thechangingwind) May 15, 2019So should home improvement novices be heading to the grocery store instead of Home Depot when they need to fix something? Probably not.
"It's a bandaid. That's what it is," Stephen Boehler, a Mr. Handyman franchise owner based in New Jersey, told TODAY Food. "I can see it looking good, but it won't last any amount of time whatsoever."
Boehler explained that the liquid any DIY-er squirts on the ramen would have to be some kind of epoxy resin, a form of paint-like glue, for the trick to actually work. The quick fix could even potentially be waterproof if the right type of paint or a sealant was used on top.
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Still, Boehler told TODAY, "it wouldn't be durable or hard enough to resist water over time."
So, when you're ready to fix up a serving of ramen, it's definitely better to skip starting any household repairs and just stick to lunch.
Erica Chayes WidaErica Chayes Wida is an award-winning journalist, food writer and recipe editor who helmed a local newspaper before joining TODAY's freelance team. A mother of two, she loves singing, collecting old vinyl and, of course, cooking. Erica is forever on a worldwide quest to find the best ham and cheese croissant and brainstorms best over a sauce pot of bubbling pasta sauce. Her work has been featured on BBC Travel, Saveur, Martha Stewart Living and PopSugar. Follow along on Instagram.