Woman Shares Easy Trick to Prevent Teary Eyes While Chopping Onions: ‘I Tried This And...’

In the majority of the population, there is a sense of dread attached to onions. As you pull out a fresh onion from the freezer, you cannot help but reconsider what’s to come next– a stream of tears. While some might be immune to it, most suffer. TikTok user Sally, who goes by @cerealeatingghost, enlightened the internet with her golden advice for chopping onions without shedding a single tear. She explained the science behind the “crying” associated with the vegetable and shared a clever alternative. 

Sally’s willingness to share her “onion wisdom” was inspired by an unrelated video from another creator, @xxbaileyelizabethxx, talking about life choices whilst making lentil soup for herself. She dramatically noted that she chose to sit home and cry because she was chopping onions for her soup. Empathizing with her scenario, Sally chimed in with a kitchen hack so that people “would not have to cry anymore.” First, she elucidated how the acid from onions is attracted to a water source and attacks the tear ducts in our eyes. Onions produce a gaseous chemical irritant called Syn-Propanethial-S-oxide when sliced and stimulate the eyes’ lachrymal glands to release tears, per the Library of Congress. 

As an alternative, the TikTok creator suggested directing the acid to a different water source, like a damp paper towel. “All you have to do is get a damp paper towel, fold it up [and] keep it on your cutting board. That acid will be drawn to the wet paper towel and not your tear ducts,” she said in the video. This hack was further tested by TikTok duo @partyshirt, who have 19.3 million followers on the platform, and tried out different hacks to prove if they are “real.” As they began with the hack test, the duo mentioned that their eyes and noses were close to the chopped onions. They were rather surprised by the potential of the hack and gave their final verdict. 

One of the creators, Nick Iavarone, said, "We've been cutting for hours and not a single tear.” "Life hack of the century,” chimed Xavier Di Petta. Finally, they once again confirmed that this hack worked unbelievably great. Collecting more than 3.3 million hearts, the video was flooded with a mix of insights from viewers. One person (@bennyswildlife) said, “I tried this and it 10000000000% works,” while another (@tayrellshactice) explained, “I run it under cold water and sometimes leave the water running, but I'm gonna try this.” “My dad's a chef and he does this and I never understood why until now,” someone else (@kari_macie444) noted. @aussie_qbbq lauded, “No no no! This is the best fact you have done.”

On the contrary, some internet users who tested out the hack were not exactly impressed by the results. “It did not work! I did it and was still miserable and crying!” exclaimed @jaylongofficial, writing in all caps. Similarly, another person (@jesssiejo) stated, “This has yet to work for me.” Several others consistently noted that purple onions did not make people cry; only the white ones did. “My eyes watered watching the onion being cut,” a fellow TikTok user (@haydie_badie) mused. It is worth noting that such hacks have propelled the social media platform into a go-to source for people looking for trivial solutions to home problems.

You can follow @cerealeatingghost, @xxbaileyelizabethxx, and @partyshirt for more videos.