WATCH — Why you might want to translate Italian brain rot before repeating it

CBC

07-05-2025

Trending meme sounds might feature offensive terms
Tralalero Tralala. Sound familiar? Then you've seen those Italian brain rot videos taking over TikTok.
The videos show AI-generated character art of animals mixed with other creatures or objects.
The videos usually start with an Italian-sounding name — which is actually gibberish — like Bombardilo Crocodilo or Ballerina Cappuccina.
Then the voiceover continues using real Italian words.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact origins of the trend.
The TikTok account echino1246 posted one of the earliest examples, on Jan. 8.
It featured the Tralalero Tralala audio with an image of a shark with pigeon legs standing on a beach.
Keep reading to hear theories as to why Italian brain rot has caught on.
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Why do people like it?
CBC Kids News spoke to Jarret Verwimp, a clinical counsellor from Calgary, Alberta, who works with youth.
Verwimp told us this kind of content gets popular because of how catchy and repeatable it is.
'The language, it's cool. It's some new word and it's catchy,' Verwimp said.
'It gets stuck in people's heads and they keep saying it over and over again.'
Of course, Verwimp said, you don't want to be repeating any offensive content.
'I think the danger with all of this is they don't know what some of these things really mean,' he said.
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That hasn't stopped brands from jumping on board, said market researcher Francesco De Nittis with Human Centric Group based in Italy.
In a blog post, he said it takes 'minimal effort' to hop on the trend and offers 'instant engagement' with young audiences.
That said, De Nittis added brands have to take it one step further — and create their own memorable content — if they want to be remembered.
Is it really rotting your brain?
Verwimp said that relaxing and watching content you enjoy can be a positive thing.
'All of that is good. We all need a break sometimes,' he said. 'It'll make you laugh, maybe, and go: 'Ha ha, that's silly.''
But like lots of things in life, it's all about finding a balance.
Verwimp said that we all have a limited amount of time to choose what we consume.
'It's not that watching this is going to make you stupid,' he said. 'But you're taking away from the time you have to watch something that's going to lift you up, that's going to educate you.'
Tell us what you think
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