The other night, I was scrolling before bed (as one does) and came across a video of a kid (@damniansworld) flushing a washcloth down a toilet. The 1985 Kohler Wellworth successfully flushed the washcloth, with Damian excitedly saying “it passed!” The video has 148,000 likes.

In just four weeks since his first video was posted on September 7, Damian’s account has gained 20k followers and 371k likes.

For some reason, I was so entertained by this video that I spent 20 minutes binging his account. And it’s safe to say he truly is obsessed with toilets: I watched his “toilet roll call” video where he walked us through all 22 (22!!) toilets in his collection. I also watched him look at the toilet options for sale at a Habitat for Humanity store, where he settled on a 2000 Mancesa. 

Yeah, it was funny to see a little kid so into toilets, but I was more in awe than anything else.

Kids with weird, niche, or specific interests often go viral. Nine-year-old Miles has 2.4M followers for his music production skills & challenges he does with his dad. Jackson has also gained a following by talking about tractors with knowledge kids his age don’t typically have.

It’s easy to think it’s because when we see someone doing something random and rare, we get curious about it. And I’m sure that’s partly true.

But I think the real reason we care is because we love to see these hobbies be supported. 

How many kids can say their dad will film them flushing toilets in their backyard for fun, dutifully accepting critiques on his camera work & commands like “let’s look at the tank”?

Gerber sent him a 2026 Maxwell Choice First Flush, basically this kid’s dream PR package. His comment section consistently has people sharing photos of toilets they’ve come across, asking what got him into toilets, and sharing suggestions like the toilet seat museum in Texas.

Notably, not a single person in the comments is making fun of them or laughing at them. People find these kids & their hobbies endearing, and leave encouraging comments. 

This is the real reason kids like him capture our attention: we are overjoyed to see a kid be encouraged for his interests and get all the support in the world.

Or maybe we just all love to see a kid who still lives his life carefree, not bothering himself with what other people think.