PINEAPPLE-GATE

What Does Pineapple-Gate Mean?

A Spanish Viral Dating Trend

"Pineapple-gate" in Spain refers to a quirky trend that has recently taken the country by storm. It revolves around single people going to branches of the Mercadona supermarket chain in order to find romance. The craze began after an hilarious TikTok video by the actor and humorist Vivy Lin (@yosoyvivylin) went viral, in which she repeated a claim (originally made on a dating show in 2017), that Mercadona is the best place to find a romantic partner, especially between the hours of 7pm and 8pm.

Upside-Down Pineapples and What Your Shopping Cart is Saying About You

Apparently, by placing an upside-down pineapple in their shopping carts, lovelorn Spanish shoppers are indicating that they are open to a relationship. According to some commentators, the trick is to place the pineapple in the cart and cruise through the wine department, bumping it into the cart of anyone you fancy who is also pushing an inverted spiky and nutritious tropical fruit. The advice has since extended to include other signals, such as placing a frozen pizza or lettuce in the cart to indicate an interest in a brief affair (there’s a Liz Truss joke in there somewhere!*), a jar of lentils to indicate a desire to find a long-term partner, olive oil to show you are looking for someone rich, and chocolates to indicate that you're a sweet person.

The trend caught the attention of the supermarket chain, with a TikTok account using its name posting, "The pineapple on the shelf of Mercadona waiting for you to get a date." Things quickly escalated, leading to chaotic scenes in various stores, with groups of people, particularly teenagers, wandering the aisles without buying anything. In some cases, supermarkets became overcrowded and the situation became so rowdy that the police had to be called to restore order. Staff at some branches of Mercadona even took to removing pineapples from the shelves in the early evening, in order to discourage the trend.

The Power of Social Media

"Pineapple-gate" is another example of how a TikTok video can inspire a viral trend. The affair perhaps highlights the deeper, sometimes troubling implications of how quickly and thoughtlessly such trends can spread. Commentators, including sociologists and psychologists, have been tripping over themselves to give their opinions on what this craze says about the search for love in modern Spanish society, perhaps missing what it actually says about the power of social media to inspire people to share a joke.

Pineapples and Relationships ❤

The ubiquitous pineapple is proving to be a popular fruit in the context of romance. Pineapple badges, pictures, and the actual fruit have long been used as a code by swingers, and the pineapple emoji 🍍 has more recently been employed in text messaging to indicate that a relationship is "complicated.”

*The Prime Minister Who Lost to a Lettuce 🥬

During the short tenure of UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, the tabloid newspaper The Daily Star started a live-stream showing a head of lettuce to mock her unstable leadership. The gimmick, which became a viral sensation, asked whether Truss would outlast the 60-pence iceberg lettuce. Just 10 days later, Truss resigned after a total of only 45 days in office, making the lettuce the "winner." The stunt became a humorous symbol of her brief and tumultuous premiership.