When it comes to getting pumped the shell up it’s impossible to beat some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In all of its glorious live-action and animated forms. But for chilling out there’s no beating Relaxed Tortoise Munching Food. At least that’s definitely the case in this ASMR video of a tortoise eating its fruits and veggies. And, perhaps most soothingly, its cheeses.
Boing Boing reported on the above sonic treat, which the Animal ASMR channel on YouTube posted earlier this year. Since it hit the ‘Tube the video’s gone massively viral with more than five million views as of this writing. Although to be fair it’s hard to say how many people were already asleep when the YouTube algorithm began playing the video.
In the soothing eight-minute showcase we watch as a small, exceptionally cute tortoise munches several different foods including a strawberry, a grape, a piece of cheese, and a hunk of broccoli. It’s a meal fit for royalty to be sure and one the tortoise scarfs down happily. (If only we were so enthusiastic about eating our vegetables!)
It is, of course, impossible to say which sound your body will respond to most, but some minor tingling may occur. It turns out, for example, that a tortoise’s tongue popping against the roof of its mouth is a surprisingly satisfying sound. Almost like a turn signal, but not one that makes you want to scream after 10 seconds of clicking. And clicking. And more clicking.
For those of you who haven’t heard of ASMR—and are probably wondering what the big deal about this masticating reptile is—it stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. A phenomenon whereby stimuli, often sounds, induce euphoric sensations. As you listen to this particular video, feel for tingling in your scalp and down the back of your neck. Or, if you’re a tortoise, in your tail and carapace.